£1.42M for six sustainable timber transport road projects in Highland
13th June 2017
SIX timber transport projects that benefit communities and the environment on rural roads in Highland are to receive £1.42 million of funding announced today.
These projects will improve rural infrastructure and greatly reduce the impact of timber haulage on local communities.
The funding is from the 2017 Strategic Timber Transport Fund (STTF), managed by Forestry Commission Scotland.
Chair of the Places Committee, Cllr Allan Henderson welcomed the news saying: "I am delighted to hear that our application for funding has been approved and we are to get £1.42 million to improve six rural roads in Highland. This together with the investment of £1 million extra capital funds agreed by the Council in March, will make a significant difference to rural communities."
The Council is also working with the Scottish Road Works Commissioner to deliver improved co-ordination and co-operation with utility companies undertaking works on the public road. Deploying additional inspection resources will increase the monitoring and drive improvements in the standards of road works and reinstatements. Utility companies will be encouraged to minimise the disruption caused to the road using public by reducing the duration of works and, wherever possible, reinstating their works to a permanent standard at the same time.
The Council expects that this will reduce the number of reinstatement failures and help to maintain the integrity of the road surface.
The Council approved an additional £24.520 million in December 2015 for roads, bridges and piers to be included in the Capital Plan, together with an additional provision of £1.6 million for minor flood works over 10 years.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The Highland Council welcomes moves by the Scottish Government to introduce greater flexibility on how it could design a Visitor Levy Scheme for consultation. The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 currently provides local authorities with discretionary powers to implement percentage-based levies following statutory consultation.
As it looks to set out its forthcoming priorities, the council is seeking involvement from members of the public, including businesses, community groups, parents, and young people. All their opinions are going to be crucial in deciding how Highland Council will take on its budget challenge for 2026-2027.
Thurso is to benefit from £100m investment in education and community facilities and are rolling out the first phase of public consultations on 9 and 10 December 2025. The Highland Council is inviting people that live, work, or study in Thurso, to come along to the public consultation events to have their say; this is an opportunity to help shape the future of Thurso, to gather views and ideas.
A new online portal has been launched to bring empty homeowners together with prospective buyers or developers with the aim of facilitating more properties to be used as homes again. Covering the whole of Scotland, this builds on the success of local pilots, referred to as "matchmaker schemes".
Steps towards introducing a short term let control area have been considered by Highland Council's Isle of Skye and Raasay area committee. On Monday (1 December 2025) the committee heard evidence to justify the grounds for the introduction of a Short Term Let Control Area covering all or part of Skye and Raasay.
EMPLOYERS and educators from across the Highlands have gathered to hear how a new initiative is aiming to transform the region's economy. Workforce North - A Call to Action brought together business leaders and teachers from primary and secondary schools from across the Highland Council area with a wide range of partners geared towards education, learning and skills development at Strathpeffer Pavillion.
The Highland Council continues to call for meaningful engagement from the Home Office over its plans to temporarily accommodate up to 300 adult male asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks, Inverness. It follows an email on Monday from Alex Norris MP, Minister for Border Security and Asylum, to Council Leader, Raymond Bremner, which failed to answer questions raised by the Council or address community concerns.
SSEN Transmission has become the first company to sign up to the Highland Social Value Charter (HSVC), marking a significant milestone in delivering long-term socio-economic benefits for communities across the Highlands. Investment commitments from the company include funding for roads, new homes, jobs, and work for local contractors in addition to a local and regional fund for communities to apply to.
The Highland Council continues to work through the procurement process for the provision of the Wick Public Service Obligation for the Highland Council. We have now entered the preferred bidder stage and have entered a standstill period.
Maps of the Council's gritting routes by priority and policy are available online at www.highland.gov.uk/gritting (external link) The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.