The Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has welcomed Professor Lorne Crerar's report on proposed governance arrangements to support the outcomes of the Scottish Government's Enterprise and Skills Review. These recommendations would ensure that a HIE Board effectively remains in place.
Week Commencing 20 February 2017 Energy & business services: At a meeting of the north Planning Applications Committee of Highland Council this week Councillors agreed to offer no objection to the application by Dounreay Tri Ltd to construct a floating offshore wind project at a site of the north coast of Caithness. The paper considered by Councillors is available to view here .
The price of First Class and Second Class stamps will rise by one pence. It will take the price of a first class stamp to 65p, and second class to 56p.
We received a call from telephone number 0015784569874 which hung up seconds later. They use automatic dailing and whoever picks up first gets the call.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (February, 23rd) sold 1,591 sheep of all classes. Lambs (599) averaged £45.06 and sold to £70 gross for a Texel from Lochdhu, Nairn.
Highland Council has launched the 1st step in automated telephone payments for customers. From 22/02/2017 customers will be able to contact the Service Centre on the payments line 01349 886605 to make a rent payment and get a rent balance.
The Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan (CaSPlan) remains on track for eventual adoption in final form in spring 2018. Yesterday the Sutherland County Committee considered the results of public consultation on the Modified Proposed Plan and agreed that the Plan be progressed to the Examination stage.
The Plan was developed by a working group consisting of Marine Scotland, Highland Council and Orkney Islands Council who are a finalist in the category for Excellence in Plan Making Practice at the Royal Town Planning Institute's (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence (external link) 2017. The RTPI Awards are the most established and respected awards in the UK planning industry.
Young people in Caithness and Lochaber will be among the first in Scotland to benefit from new Norwegian style learning centres. The centres are aimed at helping young people pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and digital (STEMD).
Scrabster Harbour has launched its marketing campaign to promote Caithness as a cruise destination to the global cruise industry. The campaign, which will feature a staged marketing approach, will ensure relevant information is delivered at the critical points during the decision making process, and before and after cruise industry events.
From 1 April 2017 the Scottish Government is changing the basis on which properties are assessed for Council Tax and this will increase the charge for Council Tax properties that are banded E to H. The Highland Council has no discretion in this matter and must apply these increases to the Council Tax charges from 1 April 2017.
Consultation events. 21 February - Riverside Car Park, Wick, 11:00-13:00 22 February - High School Bus Stop, Thurso, 11:00-13:00.
Atlantis, a global leader in the tidal power sector, is delighted to announce that the first AR1500 tidal stream turbine has been deployed and energised at the MeyGen project site in the Pentland Firth, Scotland. The Atlantis AR1500 tidal stream turbine was successfully deployed in less than 60 minutes following earlier connection of its proprietary wet mate connection management system, which allows for rapid deployment and retrieval of the tidal stream turbine.
Week Commencing 13th February 2017. Energy & business services: CNSRP partner Highland Council this week confirmed the sale of the buildings at Wick Harbour that will be restored and used as the Operations and Maintenance base for the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) project.
The first block of concrete has been removed from the structure of one of Dounreay's cooling ponds - representing a major first step in demolishing the redundant giant chamber. The pond is one of two concrete pits, six metres deep, which was used to store spent fuel from the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR).
A unique new archive, funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, has opened its doors to the public for the first time, bringing together historical nuclear records from all over the UK. Speaking today at the Nucleus (Nuclear and Caithness Archive) in Wick, NDA chairman Stephen Henwood, said:Today we see a new chapter in the important role Caithness has played in the UK's nuclear history.
Members of the Communities and Partnership Committee have approved a new Polling Scheme to come into effect for the Election to Highland Council on the 4 May 2017. The decision comes after a review of Polling Places during which the public, politicians, community groups and those with expertise in access to premises for disabled people were invited to comment on the existing and proposed changes arrangements for Polling Districts and Polling Places.
The pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan is nominated for prestigious planning industry award. The Plan was developed by a working group consisting of Marine Scotland, Highland Council and Orkney Islands Council who are a finalist in the category for Excellence in Plan Making Practice at the Royal Town Planning Institute's (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence (external link) 2017.
The Caithness and Sutherland Local Development Plan (CaSPlan) remains on track for eventual adoption in final form in spring 2018. Yesterday the Caithness Committee considered the results of public consultation on the Modified Proposed Plan and agreed that the Plan be progressed to the Examination stage.
