The project brings together staff housing with community provision, including two dwellings created for UpNorth! Community Trust, helping to support long-term population sustainability in the village.
The masterplan has been inspired by traditional clachans of Sutherland, with stone walls and enclosures helping define the public and private realm. The site is steeply sloping, so the houses are stepped into the landscape, with lower storeys built in Caithness stone, grounding the development in its local geology and giving the terraces a robust, enduring base. Above this, the upper levels are clad in naturally weathering timber on cross-laminated timber (CLT) structures. This material pairing—stone and timber—anchors the homes while offering a warm and future-proofed construction system.
The living accommodation occupies the upper floors, where the CLT spruce is left exposed, creating a continuous interior surface of walls and ceilings. These calm, material-rich spaces connect to views over Tongue Bay and the wider Sutherland landscape.
A central element of the scheme is the reinstatement of the historic Cockle Steps, an informal route that once crossed the site. The project formalises this path to create a new public pedestrian link between the upper village and the planned North Sutherland Care Hub located below. This piece of shared infrastructure aims to enhance walkability, reconnect parts of the settlement and bring wider community benefit.
Through sensitive siting, local materials, and a focus on community connection, the project seeks to contribute positively to the future of Tongue and the wider North Sutherland region.