Local Authority News
28/3/2011
New Refuse Services Begin In Caithness on 4th April
New refuse and recycling service begins in Caithness and Lochaber next Monday The new refuse and recycling collections in Caithness and Lochaber begin next Monday, 4th April. From this date householders will receive a fortnightly refuse collection, alternating with a fortnightly recycling collection from blue or blue-lidded recycling bins.28/3/2011
Apprentice Day For Highland Youth Voice Members
The Highland Youth Voice Apprentice Day is running for the 6th time on Wednesday, 30th March with 14 young people aged 15-17 from Lochaber, Nairn, Wick, Fortrose, Dingwall, Kingussie and the Inverness area taking part. Highland Youth Voice, the elected Youth Parliament for the Highlands, holds an annual 'Apprentice Day' on which members of the Highland Youth Voice shadow Senior Managers.27/3/2011
Taxi Fare Review In Highland
•Public Notice - Revised Taxi Fares The public is being asked for its views on proposals by The Highland Council to revise the scale of maximum taxi fares in the Highlands. The public have until Friday 22 April to respond.24/3/2011
Caithness Projects Get Share Of Climate Challenge Money
Climate Challenge projects share £8m Caithness projects were among the successful applicants for funds from the Climate Change challenge funding programme. Latheron Lybster and Clyth Community Development Company - £44,345 Dunnet Forestry Trust - £26,613 130 projects have been announced as the latest community initiatives to receive awards totalling over £8 million from the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF).23/3/2011
2011 Highland Ranger Guided Walks And Events Programme
A programme of over 350 guided walks and events has been published by The Highland Council's Countryside Rangers in conjunction with New Century Publications Group. Councillor Ian Ross, Chairman of The Highland Council's Planning, Environment and Development Committee said: "The 2011 programme runs from April through to the end of the summer with events taking place throughout the Highlands.21/3/2011
Opportunity to bid for £80 million worth of Highland transport contracts
The Highland Council is inviting tenders for the provision of public bus services and home to school transport services across the whole of the Council area, with a potential value of up to £80 million over the 5 year life of the contracts. The Council are looking to encourage as many suppliers as possible to take advantage of this opportunity which gives local suppliers the chance to bid for services in their community.19/3/2011
Awards For Council Pre_Application Planning Service
Two Awards in One Day - National Recognition of Highland Council's Pre-Application Advice Service The Pre-Application Advice Service for Major Developments, a cross Highland Council and other public agency project led by the Planning and Development Service, received a commendation in the Development Management category at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning and a Silver Award in the Service Innovation and Improvement category at the COSLA Awards on March 11th 2011. The Service helps to make the planning process more efficient by encouraging early and effective discussion with developers to better inform their subsequent planning applications.16/3/2011
Seven Candidates Contest Wick Ward By-election
Seven candidates will contest the forthcoming by-election to elect one councillor to serve The Highland Council's Ward 3 - Wick. The candidates are: Laurel Bush, Animaland, 16 Kennedy Terrace, Wick.16/3/2011
New Kerbside Recycling Calendars Available Online
This year a new search function will be launched on the Council's website which allows householders with access to the internet to find their 2011 e-recycling collection calendar. The Highland Council's Waste Management Unit will not be delivering kerbside recycling collection calendars in 2011, unless they are making changes to a service.11/3/2011
New Children's Home Earmarked For Wick
The Highland Council's Housing and Social Work Committee has agreed in principle to build a new five-bed children's residential home in Wick at an estimated cost of £1.2 million. Investigations are under way to identify a suitable site for the home, close to school and amenites, and secure the necessary permissions, subject to further decisions by the Council over funding.11/3/2011
Lessons Learned From CHaP Project
The Highland Council has learned lessons from the Caithness Heat and Power Project in Wick, and introduced measures to ensure the corporate failings are not repeated in any future project. A total of 39 actions have been put in place in a response to an internal audit of the Wick-based enterprise and these actions have been acknowledged by external audit and the Accounts Commission.10/3/2011
Big Changes For Culture and Leisure To Save A Million
Highland Council to create arms length organisation for Community Learning and Leisure Members of The Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport (ECS) Committee have agreed to a major transfer of the management and delivery of Community Learning and Leisure Services to an arms length organisation (ALO). The transfer which will take place in the financial year 2011/12 will save the Council £1 million per year through an ALO.10/3/2011
Council Votes No Change For Voluntary Sector
Business as usual for voluntary sector with The Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Service Service delivery contracts between the voluntary sector and the Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Service will remain under the management of the Council when its Community Learning and Leisure (CLL) Service transfer to an arms length organisation (ALO). Members of the Council's ECS Committee have agreed to transfer its CLL Services to an ALO in the financial year 2011/12.6/3/2011
Community Benefit Policy Agreed
The Highland Council has agreed changes to the way communities will benefit from renewable energy developments. For onshore developments, the Council is adopting a three-tier approach to community benefit.6/3/2011
New Community Council scheme
A new scheme governing the running of Community Councils in the Highlands takes effect from 1 April 2011. It brings together eight separate schemes into one Highland-wide scheme.4/3/2011
Special Council Meeting Called To Consider CHaP Findings
A special meeting of The Highland Council is being held on Thursday 10 March 2011 at the Council Chamber, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness IV3 5NX to consider the findings of the Accounts Commission in respect of the Caithness Heat and Power project in Wick. The meeting is public and will start at 2 pm or following a meeting of the Education Culture and Sport Committee, whichever is the later.3/3/2011
Extension of Council Meetings Webcasting
The Highland Council's pilot webcasting scheme is to be extended so that council and strategic committee meetings held at Council headquarters in Inverness can be viewed by the public from their computers. At present, the Council webcasts meetings held in the Council Chamber of the Planning Environmental and Development Committee as well as the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Planning Applications Committee and the Highland Licensing Committee.3/3/2011
Wick By-Election Date Confirmed
A by-election will be held in The Highland Council's Ward 3 - Wick - on Thursday 7 April to choose a successor to Councillor Katrina MacNab (Independent), who resigns from the Council with effect from Friday (4 March). Nomination papers will be available from 10 am on Monday 7 March.2/3/2011
Caithness Heat & Power - Accounts Commission Report
Highland Council failed to establish effective governance arrangements for innovative heat and power project The Accounts Commission has considered a report on The Highland Council's Caithness Heat and Power (CHaP) project, which was run by an arms-length community enterprise. In its findings the Commission says the lack of appropriate risk management and effective governance arrangements for the project was a corporate failure by the council.2/3/2011
