News
Residents, Community Councils and community representatives in the Caithness Wards of Wick, Thurso and Landward have the opportunity to say what they think the area should be like in the future at their Joint Ward Forum on Tuesday 8th September. In the run up to this meeting there will also be an opportunity for people to take part in two special information days as part of the Council's consultation on the new Highland-wide Local Development Plan.
This is the latest challenge Dounreay's Prototype Fast Reactor decommissioning team have had to conquer. Once an integral part of the heat transfer system, the first of the four colossal metal tanks was safely removed from the redundant plant last week.
Months of hard work have paid off for seven Highland independent museums. Dunbeath Heritage Centre, Timespan (Helmsdale), Groam House Museum (Rosemarkie), Ullapool Museum, Grantown Museum, Gairloch Heritage Museum and the Museum of the Isles on Skye have all achieved museum accreditation, meeting the set of national standards for UK museums.
The Business information and advice service for the Highland and Moray Councils which is delivered by The Highland Council's Enterprise Trust, Highland Opportunity Limited, has just reached its first major milestone today with at total of 500 requests for advice and assistance having been received since the service started on 1st April. Enquiries to Business Gateway have come via the national website www.bgateway.com and the national telephone number 0845 609 6611 and 30% of enquiries have come from people visiting the walk-in shops in Inverness and Elgin where business advisers are on hand to answer queries and provide information.
'Everybody Online - Caithness', the first project of its kind in the Highlands, is being launched to allow locals who have never had the chance to use the internet to discover what it can do. The project being funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), with the support of BT Scotland, is run by a national charity 'Citizens Online' and aims to use technology to help communities counter social disadvantage.
Like a giant Meccano set, some 1500 parts are being fitted together to create a new ventilation system that will protect workers decommissioning some of Dounreay's most hazardous facilities. The network of fans, electrical infrastructure, supports, ducts, chambers and stacks will vent the airflow during the next stages of cleaning out and dismantling the key plants that made up the Fuel Cycle Area.
Work on the refurbishment contract in the Thurso Pedestrian Precinct has now been completed apart from the laying of coloured bitumen over the tarmac area running through the centre of the precinct and a few other minor works. The project which cost just over �370,000 was financed by The Highland Council's T.E.C and Planning & Development Services was designed by the councils Wick based engineering team who consulted with the Community Council and members of the public before finalising their plans.
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd has received planning consent for two of the biggest construction projects needed to complete the site clean-up. The new facilities will look after low and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the remainder of the site closure programme.
Caithness company, Berry Good were absolutely delighted with their very first award from the Scottish Food and Drinks Excellence Awards held recently in Glasgow. The awards which are hailed as the 'oscars' of the Scottish food and drink industry were held on the 7th May in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery.
The Highland Council is joining in with the UK-wide campaign Foster Care Fortnight which starts today (Monday 11 April), to attract more local people into fostering. The fortnight is co-ordinated by fostering charity Fostering Network, to raise the awareness of fostering and highlight the shortage of foster carers across the whole of the UK.
The Highland Council has issued a clear warning to irresponsible dog owners that it will not tolerate owners allowing their dogs to foul public areas without clearing up after them. The Council this week announced that during a crackdown week in April, officers issued eleven fixed penalty notices to members of the public and warned that this was just the start of the clampdown with other enforcement weeks to follow.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has commissioned Edinburgh based planning consultants GVA Grimley to produce a physical masterplan for John O'Groats. The masterplan will provide a sustainable long term model for creating an iconic visitor attraction which will include retail outlets, food and drink offerings and various levels of tourist accommodation.
For the second year running young Highland people are to benefit from the Duncraig Educational Trust Scheme which provides grants totalling around �25,000 each year. The Highland Council is the governing body of which makes available scholarship, grants and assistance for young Highland people who have particular or exceptional talents in specific identified areas.
Dropping a large three metre stainless steel container from a great height might seem like a bizarre concept, but it's all in a days work for the PFR project team. Storage of the spent fuel from the former fast reactor needs to be safeguarded from all potentially hazardous conditions.
Dounreay's industrial safety record during the last 12 months earned a �22,500 windfall for good causes locally. Every month the site goes without a lost-time accident earns a �2500 pay-out from UKAEA Ltd, parent company of Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.
The Highland Council has awarded a contract for construction of a new footbridge which forms an important pedestrian link over the River Thurso, at Thurso Cemetery. The new bridge will replace the structure which was destroyed by river flood flow, in the storms of October 2006, and will re-establish the river crossing which is part of a popular local walking route.
The Highland Council has put in place interim arrangements in five Highland communities to replace postbus services withdrawn by Royal Mail on Thursday. These arrangements will continue until the Council has met with local communities to identify sustainable long term arrangements.
The destruction of the liquid metal coolant in Dounreay's experimental fast reactors means that the site can say farewell to two of its firefighters, the graphex tenders. Specially built for Dounreay, the two graphex tenders are the only ones in the world.
"Pentland Tours was launched last year. Those that participated in the tours thoroughly enjoyed their trips and friends of Caithness have been made who will undoubtedly return.
Another legacy of Dounreay's commercial venture into nuclear reprocessing has been safely cleaned up and taken apart. A household proprietry cleaner "Mr Muscle" was found to be the most effective way of removing glue and fake snow use in the clean-up process.