The public is being urged to take part in shaping the guidance to determine rural housing applications across the Highlands.

The revised draft Housing in the Countryside Supplementary Guidance (dHiCSG) was approved for consultation by the Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 2 September 2020.

The guidance is being revised to make it clearer and more concise; and to refine the criteria for small scale housing development in the countryside.


Full details of all the changes and how to participate can be found on the Highland Council’s Consultation Portal, and comments should be submitted between Friday 23 October and Friday 18 December 2020.

Due to current COVID-19 limitations, the Council is unable to run any face-to-face public meetings. Regrettably the Council is also unable to offer hard copies of the dHiCSG for public viewing. Instead, and in accordance with the Development Plans Participation Statement, the Council has produced a short video (external link) outlining the main changes to the updated draft dHiCSG along with how to get involved.

Following the public consultation, an updated version of the HiCSG will be presented to the Economy and Infrastructure Committee for Councillors’ consideration for approval during 2021, prior to undertaking the final adoption process.