News Archive

Pilot Webcasting Scheme for Highland

The public will soon be able to follow debates on important Highland planning and licensing issues from the comfort of their own homes.   In a pilot scheme starting soon, meetings held in the Council Chamber at Inverness of the strategic Planning Environment and Development Committee as well as Inverness Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey Planning Applications Committee and Inverness Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey Licensing Committee will be broadcast live via webcasting on the Council's web site: www.highland.gov.uk.  

Warning To Householders About Bogus Door To Door Sellers

POLICE are warning householders in the Caithness area about bogus door to door sellers, offering sub-standard goods.   There have been a number of reported incidents in the Caithness area of people having purchased items from door to door salesmen, which have subsequently turned out to be faulty or poor quality.  

Improving Scotland's Planning System

Further new measures to create a more effective planning system to support economic recovery come into effect today.   The changes include: * Establishing local review bodies so that councillors, rather than the Scottish Government, can review decisions made over small-scale, local developments * A requirement on developers to consult communities before submitting major development proposals * More information being made available on planning decisions * Increasing the options for planning authorities to take effective enforcement action Infrastructure Minister Stewart Stevenson said: "The Scottish Government is working to ensure Scotland's planning system is increasingly joined up, providing greater certainty and speed of decision making for developers and communities.  

Highland Independent Museums Meet National Standards

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.  

Caithness Broch Centre Opens Saturday 25th July

The Caithness Broch Centre opens to the public on Saturday 25 July with a day of activities and talks.  The centre, based in Auckengill Old School, takes over where the Northlands Viking Centre left off some three years ago.  

Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd - Sale 14 July 2009

DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 14th) sold 90 prime cattle.  Prime bullocks (49) averaged 166.3p (-4.1p) and sold to 180p per kg and £1,192.80 gross.  

Anyone For Debt? - Asset backed new issuance drops 54.1% in Q2 2009

(LONDON, UK) Xtrakter, the market utility, released the following figures today: Fixed income new issuance was valued at USD 1 trillion for Q2 2009 representing a 15% (USD 180 billion) drop on Q2 2008 figures.   During the same period asset backed new issuance accounted for USD 100.6 billion of all issues down by 54.1% (USD 118.7 billion) and the overall size of the international capital market rose by 10.3% (USD 1.3 trillion) to a total value of USD 14.1 trillion.  

Council Secures Additional Care at Home Services

Following a comprehensive tender exercise, The Highland Council has entered into contracts with three independent sector providers, to deliver additional care at home services across the Highlands, which will supplement the services provided by the Council's in-house team of home carers and services already purchased from the independent sector.   The successful bidders, British Red Cross, Independent Living Services and Crossroads Caring Scotland, will collectively deliver an extra 117,000 hours per annum of care at home in the Highlands.  

Flood Worries Subside Thanks To Castletown Sewer System

Properties in the Caithness village of Castletown that have experienced flooding in recent years are benefiting from the completion of a £136,000 Scottish Water project to upgrade the local sewer system.   An investigation showed that a section of pipe under Main Street struggled to cope during downpours of heavy rain, causing water and sewage to back up and flood nearby properties.  

Council Signs Historic Agreement

The Highland Council has signed and sealed a formal agreement with the National Archives of Scotland and the Church of Scotland to secure the transfer of historical documents from Highland Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions to Inverness.   These important historical records, currently preserved in Edinburgh by the National Archives of Scotland, are to be transferred later this year to the new Highland Archive Centre currently in the final stages of construction at the Bught, Inverness.