News Archive
27/1/2015
Grant Seeks Scottish Landfill Tax Exemption Guarantee for Berridale Braes Works
Highland & Islands MSP, Rhoda Grant is seeking confirmation from the Scottish Government that significant road improvement works planned to take place on the Berriedale Braes in Caithness will be exempted from landfill tax which could skyrocket project costs on the long overdue scheme. From April 2015, landfill tax collected from landfill operators will go to Revenue Scotland and will become the Scottish Landfill Tax.27/1/2015
MSP calls for more broadband funding for the Highlands and Islands
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, and long term campaigner for better broadband services, Rhoda Grant, has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Keith Brown, calling on him to allocate more funding to the Highlands and Islands for improved broadband services. Mrs Grant understands the Scottish Government has further monies available for this and are currently making decisions on spending priorities.26/1/2015
New venue for this week's Caithness District Partnership Meeting
The scheduled Caithness District Partnership will still take place on Friday 30 January 2015 in Thurso but people should be aware that the venue and start time have been changed from what was originally promoted. The Partnership meeting will now take place at 10.30am in the Pentland Hotel, Princes Street, Thurso.25/1/2015
Paper and Can Banks to be removed from Recycling Points
Paper and can banks are to be phased out of The Highland Council's network of Recycling Points during February and March. The decision was taken at a meeting of The Highland Council on the 18th December, at which the budget for 2015/16 and the indicative budget for the following 3 years was agreed, a package of savings totaling £42.8 million.
24/1/2015
Police in Inverness carrying out enquiries following reports of bogus callers in the Holm, Culduthel & Lochardil areas
Following on from the warning and advice on bogus callers issued last week in conjunction with Highland Council Trading Standards, Police have received a number of reports of callers operating in the Holm, Culduthel and Lochardil areas of the city this week. During two of the incidents reported, male callers targeted local addresses including those with elderly residents, offering to fix broken tiles and treat roofs for moss for "free" before requesting a sum of money.23/1/2015
Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership - Update
Week Commencing 19 January 2015 Energy & Business services: MeyGen's tidal project at the Inner Sound kicks off in earnest this month, with work starting on the groundwork for onshore access road and buildings at Ness of Quoys, just east of Gills Harbour http://renews.biz/82743/crews-pave-way-for-meygen/ And MeyGen subcontractor Fisher Marine has been working out of Gills Harbour this week, conducting survey work in support of the project http://caithness-business.co.uk/article.php?id=5674 . MeyGen's Parent company Atlantis Resources is, meanwhile, one of the companies attending the 2015 Innovators & Investors Forum in London next month.22/1/2015
Next generation fibre broadband is available now to the first customers in Wick and Thurso
More than 6,000 homes and businesses in the two Caithness towns are able to order fibre based broadband now, with speeds of up to 80 mbps, delivered through the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project. Services will be available to another 700 plus premises soon, as cabinets currently in the final stages of activation in Wick go live.
22/1/2015
Dingwall and Highland Marts Ltd - Sale 22 January 2015
LOCHMADDY, Dingwall and Highland Marts Ltd., (January, 22nd) sold 172 weaned calves and store cattle. Bullocks (104) averaged 246.9p and sold to 288p per kg for a 250kg Limousin cross from 20 Grenitote, Sollas, and £1070 gross for a 430kg Limousin cross from 21 Grenitote, Sollas.22/1/2015
Highland Council begins consultation on future of public service points
PROPOSALS for changing customer service provision in 22 locations across Highland are being considered as part of a public consultation. Council staff and members of the public are being asked for their views on proposed changes to how services are currently provided.22/1/2015
Phone Scams Targeting Elderly People
Police Scotland are advising members of the public to be aware of possible telephone scams operating in the Highlands after recent reports from members of the public and local businesses. Police in the Ross-shire and Inverness areas were alerted to a phone scam this week following two separate reports of an unknown caller contacting elderly individuals, explaining that they had won an amount of money.21/1/2015
Happening At Gills
The 24 metre-long multi-cat vessel C-Salvor is paying her first 2015 operational visit to Gills Harbour this week. The little rectangular-shaped 145-tonne ship is using the Scottish mainland's most Northerly port for conducting diver-led survey operations for tidal electricity developers MeyGen Ltd at its Crown Estate lease site, 1 mile off the little port, and just offshore from its planned cable-landfall site at Ness of Quoys, that lies 1 mile along the Gills Bay coast east from the harbour.
21/1/2015
Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd - Sale 21 January 2015
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (January, 21st) sold 826 store cattle, 70 adult head of breeding cattle. Bullocks (539) averaged 236.4p, (238.8p last year) and sold to 296.4p per kg for a pen of 280kg Limousin crosses from Garthbeg Farms, Gorthleck, and £1,460 gross for 672kg Charolais crosses from Hilton Farm, Tain.20/1/2015
Social Media Workshops for Local Food and Drink Businesses
Early in February the first two in a series of workshops specifically for anyone working in the local food and drink sector will take place to highlight how social media can be best used to increase profit, support other local businesses and promote the area. The workshops follow on from the project The Highland Council ran last year across the Highlands to investigate the potential and appetite for developing an industry-led local food and drink network that could co-ordinate and drive future activities to support the local food and drink sector in the region.20/1/2015
Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd - Sale 20 January 2014
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (January, 20th) sold 65 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (31) averaged 213.4p (-3.4p) and sold to 225p per kg and £1,449.00 gross.20/1/2015
Highland Council ranked one of top councils for online presence
The Highland Council's new website has risen to the top 6% of UK Local Government websites, according to an independent survey into online presence. The website, launched in July 2014, aims to focus more on the needs of the customer and provides a platform to deliver more services online.20/1/2015
£100 million for delayed discharge
Funding over three years to increase social care capacity. A further £100 million over three years is to be invested in the NHS to help reduce the numbers of people waiting to be discharged from hospital.20/1/2015
Rhoda Grant MSP Welcomes New Funding After the Horse Has Bolted
Speaking about the £100 million extra funding allocated by the Scottish Government to prevent delayed discharge from hospitals nationally, Highlands & Islands MSP and Shadow Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, Rhoda Grant said "Of course I welcome the extra funding set aside for NHS Highland, but it is a case of trying to shut the stable door now that the horse has bolted". “NHS Highland have been underfunded for years and only recently the Scottish Government gave extra funding to try and give the Board the funding they were entitled to, but deprived off.19/1/2015
Billion Pound Cable To Link Caithness And Moray
Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE Transmission), a subsidiary of SSE plc, has confirmed that it will accept Ofgem's proposals for the funding of the new Caithness-Moray electricity transmission link at a cost of £1,118m. The project is now set to help support over 100 new energy careers across the north of Scotland, including via SSE's industry-leading apprentice, trainee engineer and graduate programmes.
19/1/2015
Council clarifies Winter Maintenance Policy
The Highland Council wishes to clarify that if anyone is seeking information on their Winter Maintenance Policy and gritting maps then this information can be found on the Highland Council website. The Highland Council Winter Maintenance Policy states: "The treatment of roads will be carried out based on a hierarchical system dependant on route priority".19/1/2015
