There’s something stirring in the Highlands, and it begins with the promise of home.
At this week’s meeting of The Highland Council, members shared a quietly transformative update on the Highland Housing Challenge, this bold vision was launched just last year to tackle the deepening housing crisis across the region.
It is, at heart, a mission to bring life back into communities long held back by scarcity, cost and complexity.
Since the initiative began, a public call for land has already uncovered 250 potential sites across Highland, these could hold as many as 25,000 new homes.
That’s more than double the short-term target, and a decisive step toward the goal of building 24,000 new homes in ten years.
If achieved, it could bring £3 billion into the region, that would lay the foundation for sustainable growth and support thousands of new jobs.
But what truly sets this effort apart is its clear-eyed honesty about the challenges.
The Council isn’t chasing shortcuts.
It is confronting the realities of land supply, construction cost and developer capacity with a kind of quiet determination, one that is rooted in realism and driven by a shared ambition.
Land is being sought not just in cities and suburbs, but in every part of Highland where people want to live.
New finance models are being explored, these include a joint venture with the Scottish National Investment Bank to spark public and private partnerships.
A new integrated property service is already easing red tape, masterplan consent zones are being developed to give larger developments a head start.
There is also serious focus on growing the construction sector itself, this includes investment in skills, training and long-term workforce support.
The goal is not just to build houses, but to build them well.
Cllr Glynis Campbell Sinclair, who chairs the Housing and Property Committee, spoke with quiet resolve.
“Housing is central to everything we want to achieve,” she said.
“From reversing depopulation to regenerating our towns and rural villages, the answer begins with people having homes they can afford, in places they want to live.”
She also highlighted the wider investment potential now within reach.
Across the Highlands and Islands, the pipeline is estimated at over £100 billion by 2040.
Highland is expected to receive more than 40 percent of that total.
That could mean over 100,000 jobs in construction, thousands more would follow in the years ahead.
The Scottish Government has already thrown its weight behind the challenge.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison and Housing Minister Paul McLennan both attended the Highland Housing Challenge Summit in Aviemore.
Their presence at the recent Inverness seminar reaffirmed that Highland is not facing this challenge alone.
For now, the work continues, not with fanfare, but with focus and a belief that the Highlands can be a place where everyone has a home to call their own.
Because building homes is never just about bricks and timber.
It is about people, place and the future we choose together.
