The Highland Council's Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee has agreed a formula for spending an extra £2 million in the new financial year commencing on 1 April on road maintenance, including filling pot holes and drainage projects. The spending supplements the £15.2 million already being spent by the Council on road maintenance and £5 million on winter maintenance.
The Highland Council is to make a robust response to the Scottish Government's Review of Scottish Ferry Services, highlighting the huge importance to rural and island communities of lifeline ferry services. Councillors said ferries are as important to the Highlands as the Forth Road Bridge is to Edinburgh and the East of Scotland and is the economic bedrock of many communities.
WHAT IS EARTH HOUR ALL ABOUT? WWF's Earth Hour is a simple idea that's quickly turned into a global phenomenon. Hundreds of millions of people turning off their lights for one hour, on the same night, all across the planet.
The Highland Economic Forum, a partnership of public and private sector organisations chaired by Highland Council, is pursuing an initiative designed to build on the substantial employment and population growth that the region has achieved over the past ten years. Highland's population grew by 6.1% between 2001 and 2010 (twice the Scotland growth rate), and the Moray Firth sub region achieved the second highest economic growth between 1998 and 2008 of all the areas in the UK.
200,000 Scots called to action to tackle the nations litter problem! Keep Scotland Beautiful Keep Scotland Beautiful, one of Scotland's leading environmental charities, is calling out to 200,000 Scots to do their bit to clean up their favourite part of Scotland during a two month attack on the nations litter. Scotland's biggest annual litter clean up, known as National Spring Clean, is Keep Scotland Beautiful's flagship volunteer campaign and is supported by Zero Waste Scotland.
The Highland Council has assured organisers of free-to-enter events that there will be no change to the current licensing arrangements when new guidance on public entertainment licensing is introduced on 1 April. This means that there will continue to be no charge for community or fund-raising events that are free to the public to attend.
The Cabinet Minister for Education and Life-long learning, Mike Russell dropped in on Ardnamurchan High School on Friday 2nd March en-route to the formal opening of Acharacle Primary School. The Highland Council's Director of Education, Culture and Sport , Hugh Fraser, and Acting Head of Education Calum Macsween together with councillors, Michael Foxley, Drew Millar and Bill Fernie joined Head Teacher Chris Millar-Craig and Parent Council Chair Sean Turner in welcoming Mike Russell to Ardnamurchan High School.
Senior appointments Planning for Integration - The Highland Council and NHS Highland. The Highland Council and NHS Highland are very pleased to announce some key senior appointments to support the move to integration of health and social services in April.
The Highland Council is inviting applications to its Deprived Area Fund from community and third sector organisations to assist defined disadvantaged communities to develop and implement activities that improve the quality of life and regenerate their communities. Priority will be given to projects that directly deliver employability outcomes for individuals who are furthest removed from the labour market and live within the targeted areas including parts of Alness, Fort William, Invergordon, Inverness, Seabord (East Ross) and Wick.
New grant set to help Business Gateway companies in Highland grow. Highland companies with ambitions to grow could be eligible for up to £10,000 of support thanks to a fund being offered exclusively through Highland Council's Business Gateway.
The Highland Council has confirmed the recommendations of a Cross-Party Working Group, which are aimed at providing better support in the classroom for pupils and teaching staff. It has agreed the establishment of a single post of Pupil Support Assistant, graded at two distinct salary levels to reflect the difference in general support required by the majority of pupils and the specific support required by pupils with significant levels of need.
The Highland Council's Countryside Rangers, in partnership with the Rangers from Moray Council, have launched their 2012 brochure featuring over 400 guided walks and events to encourage everyone to get out and explore the great outdoors and find out more about the animals that share it with us. Some highlights in the programme of walks and events, that covers the whole of the Highlands and Moray, include Gruffalo children's activity days, long distance walks, mountain conservation days, whale and dolphin spotting, wild food foraging and gentle wildlife walks.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP will officially open Acharacle Primary School on Friday (2 March 2012) during a visit to Lochaber which also includes a guided tour around Ardnamurchan High School,now in its 10th year. Arriving at Acharacle on Friday afternoon he will be joined by Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor Michael Foxley and the Education, Culture and Sport Chairman, Councillor Bill Fernie to celebrate the success of the school which opened its doors to pupils in May 2009.
Road closures necessary to accommodate flood channel work. A public meeting is being held between 6pm - 7.30pm on Thursday (1 March) at Fairways Golf Club, Inverness, when local residents will be advised of traffic management issues and site progress on Phase 4 of the South West Inverness Flood Relief Channel, which, when completed, will reduce the possibility of flooding in that part of the city.
Postal ballot papers were issued on Friday, 24 February 2012 to the 10,877 voters eligible to take part in the forthcoming Crofting Commission elections to elect five new board members representing Shetland, East Highlands, Western Isles, West Highlands & South West, and Highlands. A total of 28 candidates are vying for the five places on the Board.
The Highland Council has taken an important step towards securing the highest level of benefit possible for local communities across the Highlands from renewable energy developments by agreeing a policy on how future funds are allocated. Council Leader Michael Foxley and Councillor Isobel McCallum, Chairman of The Highland Council's Rural Affairs and Climate Change Strategy Group, highlighted the Council's commitment to community benefit at a conference in Inverness on Friday 24th February 2012 organised by the Council.
The Highland Council has been given the go ahead to proceed with plans to replace the four primary schools in Wick with two new purpose built schools serving the North and South of the town. Scottish Education Cabinet Secretary, Michael Russell, who called in the Council's proposals, has confirmed he is content for the Council to amalgamate Hillhead and North Primary Schools in a new school building on land available within North Primary School and to join the South and Pulteneytown Academy Primary Schools in a new school to be built on the site of the existing High School playing field site and the site of Pultneytown Academy PS.
An estimated £18 million programme of essential works is to be started next year on the Kessock Bridge to bring the key route into Inverness and the North of Scotland up to modern standards and ensure public safety. The road surface on the bridge, which carries 30,000 vehicles every day, has reached the end of its working life and the need for ad-hoc repairs has become increasingly disruptive to traffic.
Caithness Meeting 7.00 - 9.00pm 23rd February 2011 Mackays Hotel, Wick For other meetings see below. On 16 December 2010, the Board of NHS Highland and Members of The Highland Council agreed in principle to commit to planning for the integration of health, education and social care services.
"Chew it, wrap it, bin it" message promoted to Highland pupils Next week pupils in ten Highland schools will take part in a series of drama workshops to highlight issues surrounding litter, especially disposal of discarded chewing gum. The Bin It! workshops, sponsored by Wrigley, aims to encourage students aged 11-13 to consider the personal, social and environment costs of gum litter and to encourage behavioural change.