SUTHERLAND SUMMIT - AND ITS FOLLOW-UP

Sutherland Summit.    On 14 September 2009 we held a momentous event - the Sutherland Summit.  This major event, which attracted nearly 200 delegates, was attended by Scottish Government Ministers Jim Mather and Roseanna Cunningham, by MP John Thurso, by Constituency MSP Jamie Stone and other MSPs, and by a wide range of other "movers and shakers" from Sutherland and beyond.  Mr Mather's "mind-mapping" session was particularly valuable, and was followed by a series of "break-out" workshops in the afternoon.  Our consultants, "Rural Analysis Associates" did a fine job in producing a report of the Summit, which you can read by clicking here.  The Summit was also followed up by a series of wide-ranging workshops held across the county in December.  The final workshop of the series will be an all-day event, which is now scheduled for 25 January, in Lairg Community Centre.  Further details will be promulgated in due course.

Once all the lessons have been learned from the Summit and its follow-up workshops, RAA will write, and Sutherland Partnership will publish, the new Action and Development Plan for Sutherland, which will replace the Sutherland Partnership Strategy Document 2005-9.  We expect that this new Action and Development Plan will give clear direction to the Sutherland Partnership for the next five years.