Farmers have been urged to remain vigilant after the first evidence emerged that Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) was circulating in Scotland in 2012. Eight cows in a dairy herd at the Barony campus of Scotland’s Rural College in Dumfries and Galloway have tested positive for SBV antibodies, indicating exposure to the virus in 2012, although at a low prevalence.
After the first round of the Scottish EDGE competition, where over £500,000 was given to help 17 of Scotland’s brightest entrepreneurs, they are ready to start all over again! This next round will award in the region of £750,000 to young Scottish businesses. The closing date for round two applications is 5pm Tuesday 16 April 2013.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (March, 27th) sold 2,805 sheep of all classes. Lambs (1,267) averaged £42.80 and sold to £78 gross for Cheviots from Lingland, Caithness.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (March, 26th) sold 83 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (50) averaged 224.4p (+8.3p) and sold to 250p per kg and £1,600.00 gross.
Who would move from sunny Greece to occasionally chilly Caithness? For Dr Petros Karsaliakos, the weather barely featured in his decision to move to Wick. “The weather has its own advantages and disadvantages,” he said.
Tourism in the Highlands looks set to enjoy a significant boost as part of the Homecoming Scotland 2014 programme following the announcement of support for a number of events by First Minister Alex Salmond and VisitScotland Chairman, Mike Cantlay at the official launch at Hopetoun House in South Queensferry today. Caroline Packman, Homecoming Scotland 2014 Director, said: “2014 promises to be a very exciting year for Scotland where we can celebrate all that’s great about our country and place the spotlight on our greatest assets.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise submitted plans this week for the next phase of construction at Inverness Campus – the first of several state-of-the-art office/lab complexes. With infrastructure and groundworks now well underway at the 215 acre site, the creation of this speculative unit is part of HIE’s strategy to attract leading life science businesses to the Highlands and Islands.
The Scottish Government today announced consent for the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay. The development consists of 11 wind turbines and their connecting cables, sited between two and 4.5 km off the Aberdeenshire coast, capable of generating up to 100 MW, providing enough energy to meet the needs of over 49,000 homes – almost half of the homes in Aberdeen.
The project, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and delivered by BT, is being hailed as the UK’s most complex and challenging broadband project ever. It means that around 84 per cent of Highlands and Islands homes and businesses will have access to fibre broadband by the end of the project.
HIAL INTRODUCES FREE WI-FI ACROSS NETWORK Regional airport group HIAL has become the first in Scotland to provide free Wi-Fi for passengers. The publicly owned company, which operates a network of 11 airports across Scotland, including Wick John O’Groats, Stornoway, Inverness and Dundee, began rolling out the new service last month, with the majority of airports now live.
There has been a significant fall in the number of people presented as homeless in Scotland, official statistics confirmed today. There were 8,734 applications for homelessness assistance in the quarter to December 2012 - a 12 per cent drop on the same period in 2011.
The Caithness & North Sutherland Fund recently awarded its latest round of community grants totalling over £142k. The grants were awarded to eleven community and voluntary groups in the Dounreay travel to work area for projects that help to make Caithness & North Sutherland an attractive place to live, work and invest in.
Passenger numbers at Scotland’s regional airports increased by 2.2% last month. Latest figures from airport operator HIAL show that its 11 airports handled 87,476 passengers in February, an increase of 1,869 passengers compared to the same month last year.
Miller Construction is extending an invitation to subcontractors and suppliers based in the Caithness and Sutherland area to a Meet the Buyer event to find out more about future opportunities for local businesses in the area. As a Tier 1 contractor with hub North Scotland Limited, Miller Construction is preferred bidder on a £50m pipeline of work to be delivered over the next three years in Wick and Tain and is seeking suitable local partners to deliver these projects and others when they arise.
The latest Census figures released by the National Register of Scotland, show that Highland’s population growth spans the age range. Highland’s population has risen by 23,000 between 2001 and 2011 to 232,000.
New legislation from the UK government means that, from 1 April, a deduction will be imposed on housing benefit claimants in council or housing association homes with a spare room or rooms in their homes. The new rule is estimated to affect more than 2,200 council house tenants in Highland.
Official statistics published today by ONS show that unemployment in Scotland fell by 4,000 over the three months to January 2013. Youth unemployment experienced the biggest fall in 20 years.
Landlords should consider all possible options and use all reasonable means to prevent evictions of housing tenants struggling to pay rent due to the bedroom tax, Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said today. The Scottish Government has called for the UK Government’s under occupancy measures, that will cut housing benefit for those deemed to have a spare room, to be scrapped.
The Highland Council has raised no objections to a consultation from the Scottish Government (Marine Scotland) regarding an application by Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd for the construction and operation of 3 offshore wind farms and associated electricity transmission works in the Outer Moray Firth. The application has been submitted under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 so although The Highland Council is not the determining authority, it is an important consultee so today (Tuesday 19 March) Members sitting on the North Planning Applications Committee considered the proposals.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (March, 19th) sold 86 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (58) averaged 216.1p (-2.1p) and sold to 233p per kg and £1,597.50 gross.
