Thurso and Northwest Caithness Councillor Struan Mackie had tabled a motion calling for a Scottish Government review, effectively calling for the local authority to be divided into more localised bodies.
It sought to respond to issues such as the perceived overbearing influence of Inverness and the drain on resources and effort put into developing the city at the expense of investment in time, money and effort elsewhere.
The motion stated: “The regionalisation of councils has been a failed experiment and a singular unitary authority for the Highland region does not, and has not, served the people of the Highlands effectively and fairly.
“Within housing, school estates and road infrastructure; the growth of the City of Inverness and the surrounding commuting areas calls for an expansion of current provision.”
“In most of our rural areas, local representatives fight for the mere retention of such services and seek to reverse the trend of population decline.
“Although the matter was raised directly at Holyrood in the context of a dedicated local authority for the City of Inverness, this Council believes that a holistic review of the local authority area is required to create representative and effective Councils for all areas of the Highland region.”