Town Centre Boost From Scrabster Cruise Ships
21st May 2011
Highland Councillors this week welcomed the early boost to the county's tourist season provided by the first cruise ships to visit Scrabster in what will be its busiest season yet for visits by cruise ships. The visits of the Ocean Countess and the Quest attracted hundreds of passengers to key sites in the county, with The Highland Council-funded shuttle bus service between Scrabster and Thurso town centre in particularly heavy demand.
Gordon Mackenzie, Scrabster Harbour Trust's Harbour Master said the value of the Council-funded service was proven almost immediately. He said: "The visit of the Ocean Countess on 21st April was our first of the season, and the ship carried over 650 passengers. We estimate that around 400 of those passengers made use of the shuttle bus service during the day to come up into Thurso, with the remainder taking advantage of mini tours to sites such as the Castle of Mey. The shuttle buses were running at virtually full capacity throughout the day, and with a total of 11 visiting ships during 2011 I hope local businesses continue to see a benefit from that."
Highland Councillor John Rosie, Thurso, said: "Local members have been keen to support the development of the cruise ship market at Scrabster over the past five years or more - we identified it as a positive way for Council to support the development of the area's tourism industry as Caithness and North Sutherland goes through an economic transition process. It is therefore very heartening to see the shuttle buses being so heavily used."
Alan Steven, Caithness Chamber of Commerce's newly-appointed Town Centre Development Officer also welcomed the influx of visitors. He said: "The county has certainly enjoyed a good start to the tourist season: the Coldwater Classic Surfing event in April, and the "Wave North" mini-festival organised around it, show that we can all pull together to make our town centres attractive places for both visitors and locals alike. Working with businesses in both Wick and Thurso my aim is to create further opportunities like this."
Eann Sinclair, Programme Manager for the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership, hailed the spirit of partnership working that lay behind the progress being made. He said: "We often criticise ourselves for not responding well enough to opportunities, so I think local businesses and agencies deserve enormous credit for this type of joined-up working. Scrabster Harbour Trust's foresight in pursuing the opportunities for cruise ship business has really begun to bear fruit."
Related Businesses
Related Articles
A process for responding to community requests for the creation of Firework Control Zones in The Highland Council area has been approved by Members of the Communities and Place Committee. The option of using a Firework Control Zone is one of the tools available to respond to serious firework misuse and the Council will work with communities and key partners to consider appropriate and proportional response to local firework issues.
The Highland Council is reaching an important milestone in the preparation of introducing a visitor levy in Highland. Following an extensive consultation in 2019 - in which 6,600 residents, businesses and visitors responded.
The Highland Strategic Local Action Group who met during August, considered, and agreed funding for 49 projects submitted to the Community Led Local Development fund (CLLD), which makes up part of The Highland Council Community Regeneration Funding (CRF) programme. Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans, said: "It is the third year in a row that we have been successful in securing a large allocation of CLLD funding from the Scottish Government.
Fiona Duncan, Fiona Grant, Fiona Malcolm, Alison Clark and Finlay MacDonald have been appointed as Chief Officers with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council Cllr Bill Lobban said: "Congratulations to all three Fiona's, Alison and Finlay on their appointments to Chief Officers.
The Highland Council welcomes the positive Care Inspectorate Inspection report following a recent unannounced inspection visit to Pennyland ELC, Thurso. Following the inspection, Pennyland ELC received the following: How good is our care, play and learning? - 5 Very Good How good is our setting? - 5 Very Good How good is our leadership? - 5 Very Good How good is our staff team - 5 Very Good.
The Highland Council's Climate Change Committee has approved this week a report outlining the Council's commitment to aligning its operations with the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill. The report highlights the positive impact of the circular economy on reducing waste, promoting resource efficiency, and contributing to the Council’s ambitious net zero emissions targets.
Communication improvements within the housing service has helped to reduce the time taken to complete repairs over the past two years. A performance report to the Council's Housing and Property Committee presented quarterly data which charted its continued improvement from 2022/23.
On Thursday 22 August 2024, The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee agreed how, when and where it will enable delivery of development across Highland with the approval and adoption of the Local Development Plan Delivery Programme for IMFLDP2. As in the report recommendations, the committee agree to consult more widely on a draft Highland Delivery Programme.
Intervention by the Scottish Government has led to the suspension of planned industrial action by council workers, including refuse collectors, this week. The action has been suspended by all three trade unions after the Scottish Government provided £77.5 million to fund an improved pay offer.
The Highland Council is reminding individuals and community groups that there is still time to take part in the consultation seeking views on the Draft Community Wealth Building Strategy. This new strategy aims to ensure every area and community across the Highlands can participate in, and benefit from economic activity.
