News Archive
A brother and sister from Thurso who set in motion a fund-raising campaign to upgrade their local playpark, have formally opened the community facility. With the help of their parents, Dylan and Amy Cameron, 2 Dale Road, Thurso, set about the task of raising money to refurbish the Pennyland Drive playpark and their efforts were rewarded at Thursday's opening ceremony.
A novel approach in combining the skills of the private and public sectors is being tried in Caithness and North Sutherland. A senior project manager with internationally renowned engineering services company Babcock International is working on secondment with the North's social and economic development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Apprentices from local engineering companies will be among the first students to register at the new engineering wing at North Highland College. The centre is believed to be amongst the largest and best equipped of its type in the north of Scotland.
A nine-week operation has recovered more than 350 particles of irradiated nuclear fuel from the seabed near Dounreay. It takes the total number of particles now recovered from the marine environment around the former atomic research site to more than 2300.
6/7/2011
New guidance to ensure people are only taking the drugs they need NHS Highland has produced new guidance to help GPs and hospital doctors review patients who take a large number of different prescribed drugs at the same time. NHS Highland Consultant Physician in Medicine for the Elderly, Dr Martin Wilson, said: "Some patients can be on a long list of drugs, so it's important we check and review what they are taking and make sure patients are on the best and safest combination.
The Highland Council is about to start trialling various options to reduce street lighting energy costs in the Lochaber area. The trials, to run from mid July until early December, will take place at locations in Banavie, Strontian, Kinlochleven and Fort William.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 5th) sold 55 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (34) averaged 197.6p (+10.0p) and sold to 212p per kg and �1,356.60 gross.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (July, 5th) sold 190 store, breeding and feeding sheep. Lambs (45) averaged �49.57 and sold to �79.50 gross for Cheviots from North Calder, Halkirk.
Graduates are being offered exciting opportunities to expand their business experience through paid placements with local firms across the Highlands and Islands. Organisations from a range of sectors including food and drink, renewable energy, and software development are amongst those offering posts which will offer valuable experience to graduates and support their own business development.
1/7/2011
Community Land Ownership Playing a Successful Role in Rural Scotland, Says New Study Community land ownership (CLO) is playing a successful role in strengthening rural Scotland, a new SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) study has concluded. The findings have prompted Community Land Scotland, the membership organisation for community landowners, to restate its call that CLO can and should be developed beyond its current concentration in the primarily crofting communities of the Highlands and Islands.
29/6/2011
This article is from Business Gateway In response to the interest generated from the funding article in the previous e-zine, we thought it would be useful to highlight a few other potential sources of finance available to growing businesses. We receive thousands of enquiries every year on the subject of funding and although Business Gateway is not a funding body, we regularly point clients in the direction of sources of finance and can advise on the various issues surrounding funding applications.
THE Highlands and Islands Consortium, which is made up of Argyll and Bute Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, The Highland Council, Moray Council, Orkney Council and Shetland Islands Councils, has awarded framework contracts for providing design services in civil engineering, transportation, planning and environmental related projects. Framework contracts are agreements which set out specific terms and conditions for contracts.
Don't be caught out by bogus holiday clubs and scams warns Highland Council Trading Standards Advice and Enforcement staff from The Highland Council's Trading Standards will be on hand this weekend at Inverness Airport to offer advice and information to Highland holidaymakers heading for the sun. Every year it is estimated that almost 400,000 UK consumers fall victim to bogus holiday clubs at a cost of over �1 billion.
AMC Engineering Ltd, whose head office is at Findon just outside Aberdeen, is set to expand their Caithness division by building a new workshop at their site outside Lybster, with the assistance of a grant of �76,250 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Managing Director Andrew Polson, who hails from Caithness and whose parents still live on the family croft at Smerlie next door to the company's workshops, explained that the skill and application of the local work-force was a key factor in deciding to site the new workshop in the north.
Week commencing 20th June: Energy: DSRL and Caithness Chamber of Commerce hosted a visit to the area this week from Dan Mistry UKAEA Culham Division, who met with a range of local companies and organisations to inform them of potential supply chain opportunities in the international fusion research programmes. In our wash-up meeting with Dan after his two days in Caithness it was encouraging to hear his views on the area's engineering capabilities, and to have it confirmed that contracts in the fusion sector are within the engineering capabilities of area businesses.
A report issued this week outlines how Caithness and North Sutherland businesses could benefit from working more closely together to create an area wide tourism identity. Following widespread consultation involving tourism providers and visitors, analysis by the Tourism Resource Company (TRC) which was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to support regional growth, outlines growing markets and points out that many operators displaying individual strengths could come together to support the region.
The Highland Council has appointed eight independent directors to serve on the board of its new arms length company, High Life Highland, which will deliver community learning and leisure services on behalf of the Council. They are: - Craig Ewan Douglas Graham Linda Kirkland Elizabeth McArdle Donald McLachlan Kenneth Nicol John Watt Laurence Young They will join four Highland Councillors on the board.
The Highland Council has accepted the imposition of a one-year moratorium on rural school closures but is to seek an urgent meeting with Scottish Cabinet Secretary, Mike Russell, to discuss the Council's current procedures in regard to reviewing its education estate and the broader issues relating to the education of pupils in rural schools. Councilors accepted that the moratorium until June 2012 would be used to allow a commission on the delivery of rural education to review the legislation and its application and to make recommendations on how to reflect best practice.
The Highland Council has agreed that the budget for the service provided by classroom assistants in primary schools be reinstated in 2011-12 and that further work is carried out to redefine the role of classroom support needs to ensure that future support is child-centred and needs-driven. The Council agreed recommendations of a cross-party Working Group, which received advice from a professsional task force.
The Highland Council is to write to Dr Liam Fox the Secretary of State for Defence and Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, expressing its opposition to any moves by the UK Government to close the army barracks at Fort George. Meeting in Inverness on Thursday23 June2011, the Council discussed an emergency report from Stuart Black, Director of Planning which highlighted the importance to the Highland economy of the Ministry of Defence base near Inverness.