Tribute paid to retiring Council director
20th December 2013
Tributes were paid at the full meeting of The Highland Council on Thursday 19th December 2013 to Neil Gillies, Director of Transport Environmental and Community Services, who is retiring on 31 January next year after 35 years service.
Convener Councillor Jimmy Gray and Councillor Graham Phillips, Chair, TEC Services, praised Mr Gillies for his leadership and dedication as director of a crucial frontline service.
Mr Gillies joined the former Highland Regional Council in 1978 after spending a year working in Caithness improving the road from Thurso to the Scrabster Ferry terminal.
In his early career he worked on a wide range of civil engineering projects including roads, bridges, and marine works.
He then made the move to road maintenance, working in the Inverness and Nairn areas, where he had responsibilities for both the Council and trunk road networks.
The loss of the trunk road contact in 2001 had a significant impact on the Council and resulted in 3 Council Services coming together to form TEC Services, and Mr Gillies was appointed as Head of Roads and Community Works in 2002.
He was appointed Director of TECS in December 2007 and during his time at the helm has worked under three Chairs, Charlie King (Mallaig), John Laing (Dunvegan) and now Graham Phillips.
Attending his last meeting of the full council, Mr Gillies said:”It has been a privilege to work for the Highland Council over the past 35 years, and when I look back it is good to see the difference that TEC Services has made to the Highlands in terms of improvements to our road and bridge network, flood protection, and our waste management services. All of these improvements could not have happened without a great team, and I would pay tribute to my staff and to our Elected Members for their support over many years.”
Related Businesses
Related Articles
At the Highland Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee. (Thursday 2 May 2024) Members had the opportunity to review the work the Council is doing to progress active travel and improve road safety before approving the next steps.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee members had the opportunity to review the last two years of the Community Regeneration Funding Programme before agreeing changes to how the 2024/25 programme will be delivered. Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful two years, it is a good time to review what has gone well and what can be done better so we can continue to build on success, and seamlessly move the focus onto how best to support the delivery of projects." "With 279 live projects and over £6million of committed funds still to be claimed, there is no doubt as to the value and impact of the programme's potential.
The Highland Council's In-House bus service pilot project was launched in January 2023. The success of its first year of operation in delivering savings and creating a valued and reliable service was highlighted at today’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee today (2 May 2024) approved the local authority's draft Ecology Strategy and Action Plan which will now move forward to an 12-week public consultation. The Ecology Strategy sets out an ambitious set of actions to tackle biodiversity loss and address the ecological emergency.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee members today (2 May 2024) agreed to direct £100K from the Council's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund a new staff training programme at the Inverness Castle Experience. The funding will enable the project team to provide specialist visitor attraction training to young people identified through partners at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The Housing and Property Committee met on Wednesday 1 May 2024 and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply.
Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I am delighted to say that Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council.
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.