Highland Council Garden Waste Permits are now available to purchase for the 2023/24 permit season. To help all customers to continue recycling their garden waste, the cost of a garden waste permit for the next season (2023/2024) has not increased and will remain at the same price as last year - £47.75 per permit.
All eligible young people are being encouraged to apply for a weekly, term time allowance of £30 per week from August 2023. The Highland Council administers Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in respect of eligible young people from across its 29 secondary schools.
A Highland Council project which aims to better support customers, who need supported the most, will now move to a second stage which includes focussing on the development of the Council's website with a £150,000 allocation of funding to appoint two dedicated web officers. The "My Council" programme is a review of the Council's customer contact experience, and part of this latest phase will prioritise the Council’s website and online customer offering over an 18-month period.
At the meeting of the Caithness Area Committee of Highland council on 29 May 2023 it was agreed to transfer assets at cost of £1 each to two groups. Development in Caithness is no longer totally being left to the cash strapped Highland council as two groups show what potentially can be done on their own.
Caithness Councillors have paid tribute to the work being done to ensure young people in the area are more prepared to enter a ‘positive destination' on leaving school such as higher education, further education, training, employment, and voluntary work. My Future, My Success (MFMS) is a partnership approach to empower young people across the Highlands to think about their future careers and aspirations by connecting them with a network of support, employability and enterprise learning, mentoring and personal skills building, ensuring that their future is determined by potential not by background, barriers, or the postcode that they come from.
Leader of the Highland Council, Raymond Bremner (SNP) welcomed the announcement today by the Scottish Government on their intention to introduce a bill to allow local authorities to introduce a local tourist levy. He said: "The Highland Council has long supported the idea of a tourist levy to enable the local authority to invest in local infrastructure and is a commitment in our Council Programme.
The use of mobile shredders to treat bulky waste was among several projects that Highland Councillors were updated on today (24 May 2023) at the Communities and Place Committee. Councillors were informed that the Council has agreed to invest in 3 mobile shredders to treat larger domestic items or ‘bulky waste' that are too large to fit into a kerbside bin.
The Highland Council has had further discussions about the health and safety requirements of inflatable lets bookings at its properties. The Council's approach seeks to balance the mitigation of risk with acting in a way that does not impact unnecessarily on community activities.
Recent analysis shows that that over a third of waste in the average household refuse bin could be recycled or composted at home! The Highland Council has conducted a Waste Composition Analysis of the waste that householders put in their refuse and recycling bins. Funded by Zero Waste Scotland as part of a national analysis of the waste in household bins across Scotland, the results will enable the Council to focus on waste prevention and increasing recycling.
The Highland Council is now accepting expressions of interest for the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for 2024-2025. The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government and COSLA.
See poster.
See poster for details..
At a meeting of the Highland Council (Thursday 11 May 2023) members have agreed to put forward a bid for up to £50m of UK government funding towards the cost of providing a new electric ferry to operate across the Corran Narrows in Lochaber. The MV Corran and her replacement the MV Maid of Glencoul are still out of service waiting for parts to be fitted and repairs completed.
Members of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee were today (Thursday 4 May) given an overview of the employability services delivered by the Council and its partners, and approved priorities for the coming year. Members heard that during 2022-23 The Council’s Employability team, together with public, private and third-sector partners delivered a suite of activity across Highland, supporting 680 people of whom 257 gained employment as a result.
Today (Thursday 4 May 2023), Members of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee agreed to continue to build on the success of the 2022/23 Community Regeneration Programme for 2023/24. Economy and Infrastructure Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful first year the new Highland Community Regeneration Programme model has been well received, bringing a streamlined application, grant award and claim processes to project applicants and grant recipients.
During the last year, over 2000 Highland businesses have been supported to start-up and grow by Highland Council. Supported by the Council's business development service, businesses have secured start-up and growth finance, and have accessed advisory support through the Council's Business Gateway service.
On Thursday 4 May 2023, Members of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee will be asked to approve the establishment of a Short Term Let Control Area for Badenoch and Strathspey (Ward 20). Ward 20 may be the first area for Short Term Rent controls but is probable that other areas will follow so anyone renting property may want to study this report.
Members of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee will consider updated developer contribution rates for education and community facilities when they meet on Thursday. Approval of the report will allow the Council to apply revised developer contribution rates for schools and community facilities in line with up to date construction costs and taking account of the latest evidence on the implications of housing development for schools and other infrastructure.
Introducing the new norm, the safety benefits of speed limit adherence and changing and informing driver behaviour will be key to the Highland Council's roll out of 20mph speed limits across the Highlands. A report going to the Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee will highlight additional actions and interventions the Road Safety Team are planning to support the new 20mph speed limits which are currently getting rolled-out to 121 villages and towns across Highland, fully funded by Transport Scotland.
At yesterday's (Thursday 27 April 2023) Housing & Property Committee meeting, Members approved the new Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028 (LHS). The Strategy was produced following an extensive period of discussion with various stakeholders who have ensured that it meets legislative and regulatory requirements but also focuses on the key housing issues affecting communities across Highland.