Caithness Committee Chair appointed

Councillor Gillian Coghill who represents Ward 4 Landward Caithness has been elected as Chairman of the new Caithness Committee. She will be supported in her new role by Thurso Councillor Donnie Mackay who was appointed Vice-Chair. 

The committee met for the first time today (Wednesday 13 January) in Wick and after taking the chair, the first agenda item for Councillor Coghill to lead on was a discussion on the new devolved powers for communities and the planned further powers for the next financial year that are subject to Council approval in March 2016.

Councillor Coghill who, as an Independent Councillor is part of The Highland Council’s Administration, said:  “It is a great honour to be given this role and I look forward to working with my fellow councillors, community partners and off course the people of Caithness to ensure we make the best use of the resources we have and all work together to attract future investment into the area.

“One of the priories for us as a Committee over the next year is to continue with the work already underway with partners to establish community planning arrangements which reflect the aspirations of the people of Caithness.  These are exciting times for local decision making. I feel we are in a great position to really drive things forward and focus on what’s important to the people we represent.

“I would like to reassure the public that despite the severe financial challenges the council is facing, my fellow councillors and I will be pushing to get the best deal possible for Caithness. We will work to make sure that as well as delivering local services effectively and efficiently,  we look to exploring future opportunities that will benefit the lives of people and help local communities prosper.”