A major public consultation has now started to help prepare a new 20 year Local Development Plan for the Caithness and Sutherland area, to be known as CaSPlan. The Main Issues Report which has now been published is the first formal stage of preparing the new CaSPlan.
Highland Council has agreed further investment in LED street lighting programme to cut carbon emissions and generate £35k per year. The Highland Council has agreed further investment in LED street lighting programme to cut carbon emissions, reduce energy consumption and generate savings of £35k per year.
THE Highland Council is renewing its call upon the UK Government to reinstate adequate coastal protection measures for the Highlands and Islands. Leader of the Council, Drew Hendry raised the matter at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands earlier this week, and asked for the support of the full council, strategic partners and the Island Councils, in asking the UK Government to reinstate an Emergency Towing Vessel in the Minches without further delay and to commit to extending the lease for the Emergency Towing Vessel based in Kirkwall.
The Highland Council has launched a consultation paper with detailed proposals for saving over £15 million towards a total budget cut of £64 million over the next five years. The Council has already achieved over £77.7m of cuts, including some through efficiency savings over the past 5 years.
The Highland Council's Trading Standards Officers are backing local Citizens Advice Bureaux in their campaign to ensure that Highland consumers get a fair deal over private car parking. Both agencies have seen an increase in consumer complaints about private parking in recent times, with a range of problems being encountered by motorists, as David MacKenzie, Team Leader at Highland Council Trading Standards explained: "Sometimes the problem is poor signage resulting in drivers being unaware of large penalty charges and the scale of such charges can also be controversial.
Highland and Islands Councils have signed a multi-million pound contract on behalf of the Pathfinder North Partnership, led by The Highland Council, for the provision of Network Services starting in March 2016. The deal is part of the Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) Framework agreement awarded to CAPITA in February 2014 and has a potential value of around £33m (over 7 years) across the five Partners for whom it is expected to generate significant cost savings.
The Highlands and Islands Convention was welcomed to the Merkinch Community Centre in Inverness today (Monday) by Councillor Drew Hendry, Leader of the Highland Council, who stressed the importance of ensuring a highly skilled workforce that would contribute to the continuing economic growth of the Highlands and Islands. He also highlighted the need for partners to be working together to deliver good quality services to local communities and to sustain and enable those communities in the Highlands and Islands to flourish.
Housing projects helping to support local construction sector and wider economy. Finance Secretary John Swinney has announced a deal to deliver new affordable homes for rent in Inverness, providing a boost to the local construction sector and wider economy.
The Caithness District Partnership next meets in Wick on Friday 31 October 2014 and the agenda will feature an update on the progress made in the implementation of a Family Team for Caithness. The meeting will also feature updates from Bob Silverwood, the NHS Area for Caithness and Sutherland the Manager.of Scottish Ambulance Service will also deliver a presentation on Public Access Defibrillators.
The Leadership of Highland Council has turned up the heat on OFGEM and called for action against unfair surcharges which make electricity costs higher for consumers in the Highlands and Islands. The Highland Council Administration is responding in support of action being taken by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and will be writing to OFGEM to call for fairer energy charges in the Highlands and Islands.
If either of the statements, ‘I wish I'd been told about that before I bought my car’ or ‘the car salesman failed to tell me about this...’ sounds familiar - then read on. The Highland Council’s Trading Standards team is today launching an online Used Car Buying Survey in conjunction with Trading Standards authorities across the North of Scotland.
Council renews call for permanent reinstatement of ETVs. Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor Drew Hendry has renewed The Highland Council's call to permanently retain and reinstate previous levels of emergency towing vehicles (ETVs) covering the Minch and Northern Isles.
Members of The Highland Council's Licensing Board were (October 7, 2014) informed that 811 Personal Licence holders have still to notify the Board that they have completed their refresher training. Personal Licence holders had until the 31 August to sit their training.
A poster campaign to highlight the risks of buying cigarettes for children has been launched by the Trading Standards services in Highland and Argyll and Bute Councils, in partnership with NHS Highland. The campaign aims to increase awareness that it is unlawful for adults aged 18 or over, to knowingly buy or attempt to buy cigarettes, tobacco or cigarette papers for a person who is under the age of 18, this is known as a "proxy purchase".
The Highland Council recycling rate has reached 45% pushing it up to number 11 in the rankings of the 32 Scottish Local Authorities according to new figures released by SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) for 2013. Councillor Graham MacKenzie, Chair of the Council's Community Services Committee, said: "These latest figures are great news and testament to the commitment of Highland residents to recycling.
High Life Highland (HLH) has announced that that the contract to refurbish Thurso Library has been awarded to local company O'Brien Construction Ltd. The work is set to commence on the 27th October 2014 with completion expected end of June 2015 and the library should re-open to the public early July 2015.
Following recent high winds last night and this morning (5 - 6 October 2014) The Highland Council is encouraging landowners to check trees and vegetation near to public roads which may have been damaged. Roads affected by fallen trees include the B862, U1667 and the C1068 and the Council's Community Services staff are continuing to clear debris.
Following an inspection of the C1154 Dulsie Bridge crossing the River Findhorn, The Highland Council has imposed an emergency temporary 7.5 tonne weight restriction on the bridge. The restriction was made on 29 September 2014 on the C1154 Cawdor - Clunas - Dulsie - Aitnoch Road at Dulsie Bridge.
Three brothers from Inverness were jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years at Dingwall Sheriff Court on Thursday 2 October 2014 for doorstep crime offences, defrauding people in their own homes. James Johnstone (42) pled guilty to charges of extortion, fraud and theft.
Partner agencies including the Highland Council, NHS Highland, Police Scotland, Witness Support Scotland and local Women's Aid charities, all based in the Highlands, have produced an annual report detailing their involvement in Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences, also known as MARACs. This annual report summarises;What is MARAC? What is the purpose of MARAC? How does MARAC work? By using an illustrative example, based on real events, the annual report also demonstrates how MARAC works in practice.