Three Caithness projects are set to benefit in the latest round of Place-Based Investment Programme (PBIP) funding for 2021/22. The Scottish Government's Place-Based Investment Funding (PBIF) gave Highland Council £1,963,000 of ring-fenced money for 2021/22 and area distribution of the grant was agreed by Members of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee in September last year.
Members of the Caithness Committee have on Wednesday 9 February agreed a list of prioritised structural overlay/inlay works and surface dressing schemes that will be funded out of the Capital Budget allocation for 2022/23. The actual 2022/23 capital roads budget allocation for Caithness is still to be finalised but based on the previous financial year and analysis of road condition survey results it is expected to be similar to the 2021/22 budget which was £1,202,581.
The Highland Council is to invest £1.074m into carrying out improvements to its housing stock in Caithness over the next 12 months. At today's meeting of the Caithness Committee (Wednesday 9 February) Councillors agreed a one-year Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme that will see £940,000 spent on mainstream projects to improve Caithness council homes over 2022/23.
It was announced last week by Chancellor Rishi Sunak that financial support will be made available to help people cope with the increase in energy costs. Energy costs will increase further following the announcement by the energy regulator OFGEM that the energy price cap will rise in April 2022 to £1,971.
Legislation ensures compliance with UK treaties with some EU countries. New legislation has been published to ensure all nationals of Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain can stand as candidates in Scottish local government elections.
At today's meeting of the Caithness Committee (Wednesday 9 February) members agreed on two projects to receive support from their area allocation of the Highland Coastal Communities Fund. The Highland Coastal Communities Fund is a new fund designed to support economic regeneration and sustainable development around coastal areas in Highland.
The Highland Council has launched a new section of its website dedicated to upgrading play area provision across the Highlands. The Council currently has 306 equipped play areas spread across the region in rural and urban locations.
At a meeting (2 February) of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee the Chair, Cllr Trish Robertson took the opportunity to thank staff who have been working hard over the last two years to deliver a number of different Covid-19 business grants to Highland businesses. The Scottish Government provides the Council with dedicated grant money to enable it to deliver the various grant schemes on its behalf.
Community groups across the Highlands are coming together as part of a new climate movement to help reduce waste and tackle a throwaway culture. The Highland Community Waste Partnership, led by Keep Scotland Beautiful, is being made possible by a £1,498,568 award, announced today (Tue 25 January) by The National Lottery Community Fund.
Highland Councillors have today expressed concerns that the Scottish Government's new national planning strategy and policies could fall short on delivering regional priorities for Highland and in achieving Scotland’s transition to net zero. At the meeting of The Highland Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 2nd February 2022 members took the opportunity to discuss the Council’s emerging response to Scottish Government’s Draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), currently out for consultation until 31 March 2022.
The Highland Council has been successful in applying to SUSTRANS for £150,000 from its Places for Everyone fund to allow it to take forward the community of Wick's vision to redesign the High Street. The project taps into the enthusiasm and determination to highlight the many positive reasons to live in and visit Caithness.
The Scottish Government, SP Energy Networks and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution have launched a trial called Project Re-Heat to decarbonise homes in Highland and across Scotland. The industry-first project will trial how electricity networks can respond to the increase in electricity demand created by decarbonising heat.
On behalf of The Highland Council, High Life Highland this week announced Smartify as the successful partner for the audio and visual input to Spirit of the Highlands and Islands project. Director of the Inverness Castle Project, Fiona Hampton, said: "The audio and visual content will see the creation of an interactive story map to encourage our visitors to explore all areas of the Highlands and Islands.
Donations of old laptops and PCs are being accepted at High Life Highland (HLH) libraries to help give children access to technology. HLH has teamed up with Budding Engineers, a local Community Interest Company based in Wick that provides a scheme called Tech4Tots & Teens.
What is proposed? A disposal, by lease, of Bignold House which is located on Bignold Park, South Road, Wick to Wick Academy Football Club. Bignold Park has been identified as Common Good property of the former Burgh of Wick.
The Highland Council has launched a Common Good consultation giving the Wick community until 21 March 2022 to respond to a proposal to lease Bignold House located on Common Good land in the town to Wick Academy Football Club. Bignold House is currently vacant, and Wick Academy Football Club have approached the Council regarding a lease of the property.
This week (24-30 January 2022) is Welcome to Your Vote week which is the ideal time to start conversations with young people about democracy, politics, and all aspects of voting. The Electoral Commission has created a set of online resources for young people, and those who work with them, to get the discussion started and help young people find out how to get and use their vote.
Members of the Highland Council's Housing and Property Committee on 20 January 2022 approved a below inflation rise (1%) in council house rents for 2022/23 to help tenants during challenging financial times. Note - inflation rate announced this week by the Office for National Statistics was 5.4% with expectations it will rise to over 6 % in coming months.
Grants of up to £3,150 are available to Leisure businesses who have been affected by measures to control the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. These businesses will have had to introduce further physical distancing and capacity limits following the new rules that came into force the day after Boxing Day.
Local government trade unions have today (Tuesday 18 January 2022) submitted a joint pay claim to COSLA calling for a ‘fair and decent' pay increase to make up for decades of cuts and to recognise the vital role these workers have played during the pandemic. The three trade unions - UNISON, Unite and GMB - submitted the pay claim calling for: • A £3,000 flat rate increase to all spinal column points (based on a 35 hr working week).