Invitation To Pay Car Parks Generate Over £10,000 Of Funding For Community Projects In Sutherland

2nd December 2025

At yesterday's meeting (Monday 1 December) of the Sutherland County Committee, Members were updated on income generated by the Invitation to Pay parking scheme in the 2024/25 financial year.

The Invitation to Pay parking scheme was introduced in Sutherland in 2022 and income is calculated across five Council-operated car parks in Achmelvich, Clachtoll, Durness and Golspie. £10,453 of funds have been earmarked for community project spend in 2025/26.

Chair of the Sutherland County Committee, Councillor Richard Gale, said: "I’m pleased that the successful introduction of the Invitation to Pay parking scheme continues to generate welcome income that can be invested locally throughout Sutherland. These funds are used to support projects and improvements for local people and deliver real benefits for our communities."

2024/25 saw an increase on previous years with £9,785 generated in 2023/24 and £8,662 in 2022/23. Under Council policy, 50% of net income after costs from the Invitation to Pay scheme is returned to the relevant Area Committee for reinvestment in community priorities. The amount allocated from each car park was:

Achmelvich Beach: £47.00
Clachtoll Beach: £2,597.00
Durness Village: £3,794.00
Golspie Fountain Road: £1,664.00
Golspie Shore: £2,351.00

Cllr Gale continued: “To date, ten projects have been supported by this funding in wards one and four and we encourage local groups to identify priority projects for their communities which could benefit from an allocation of funds in the future.”

Members also recommended the continued allocation of Invitation to Pay income in the same way as Ward Discretionary Funding, to ensure community led activities and projects are supported in areas where the income generating car parks are located, as well as across the respective ward.

In 2024/25, £3,326.26 of income was also generated from the Dornoch Beach car park which is allocated to the Dornoch Common Good Fund.