Dounreay’s radioactive impact on the environment continues to fall, according to a report. The annual survey report “Radioactivity in Food and the Environment” (RIFE 2012) has recently been published and it can be read here - http://www.sepa.org.uk/radioactive_substances/publications/rife_reports.aspx The report uses data obtained from samples of air, fresh water, grass, soil, and locally sourced meat, fish, milk and vegetables during 2012.
Police and Crimestoppers to take part in initiative to target illegal drivers. As of 07:00 hours on Monday 4 November 2013 until 07:00 hours on Monday 11 November 2013, Police Scotland Highland and Islands Division and Crimestoppers Highlands and Islands will be taking part in a national joint initiative to target illegal drivers.
Energy/ Business Services: Gordon Calder’s story in this week’s Caithness Courier carries good news for the area economy. Rolls Royce has confirmed its commitment to work in Caithness until 2030, providing a boost to the 300 strong workforce.
Dounreay’s parent body organisation – the consortium of international companies that owns and manages DSRL – is getting a new name. From October 28, the Babcock Dounreay Partnership will be known as the Cavendish Dounreay Partnership.
Caithness Chamber of Commerce has been set into action following announcments about the rollout of rual braodband as Caithness will not see any benefit for some time yet. The chamber has contacted their meber businesses but would be interested to hear from any Caithness business that thinks slow broadband is affecting their business.
The Caithness & North Sutherland Fund recently held its 3rd grant assessment round for 2013 awarding over £109K to ten community and voluntary groups for projects that will benefit people living in the Caithness & North Sutherland area. The grant body which is funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority currently assesses applications quarterly and the closing date for the next assessment round is the 1st of November 2013.
Energy/ Business Services: Staff from HIE have been back in Aberdeen this week as part of our ongoing discussions with oil & gas sector businesses. As previously reported there are several promising leads, based on the increasing awareness of the north as a strategic and cost-effective location from which do business.
Week Commencing 23rd September 2013 Energy/ Business Services: Next week sees a meeting in Aberdeen of the Scottish Government/ Energy North Oil & Gas Task Force for the Highlands & Islands, which has been established under the chairmanship of Fergus Ewing MSP, the Scottish Government Energy Minister. Several representatives from Caithness/ North Sutherland will attend the event as the north continues to attract attention from the oil & gas industry, both for its infrastructure and its supply chain companies.
Police Scotland is today announcing the launch of a new campaign to target those involved in hare coursing, code named, Operation Lepus. Operation Lepus is a national operation to counter hare coursing activity and this year Police Scotland will be undertaking targeted patrols in known hare coursing areas in an effort to apprehend the coursers.
Energy/ Business Services: The Scottish Renewables Marine Conference took place in Inverness this week. The event’s key announcement was the news of Scottish Government consent for Meygen Ltd to develop its proposed tidal stream site in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth.
A new Fund has been launched to assist small businesses with their business growth and development and promote the economic growth of Caithness and North Sutherland. Caithness Business Fund was created after discussions between Caithness Chamber of Commerce and Baillie Wind Farm Ltd who had a vision to see a wider area of Caithness and North Sutherland benefit from local wind farms.
An emergency exercise will be held at Dounreay on Wednesday 18th September 2013. The Dounreay site alarm will be sounded to initiate the exercise and may sound again throughout the duration of the exercise.
Police in Highlands and Islands report numbers detected during national seatbelt day of action. Police Scotland Highland and Islands Division report that 33 people were found to be within vehicles without wearing a seatbelt during the national day of action, which ended yesterday morning.
Week Commencing 2nd September 2013 Energy/ Business Services: Productive discussions this week with a potential inward investor in the energy sector. It was particularly encouraging to be able to demonstrate the joined-up approach we take to economic opportunity, with colleagues from HIE, Dounreay, Highland Council, North Highland College, HIAL, ports and businesses all involved in supporting roles.
Police in Highland and Islands report numbers of speeding motorists detected around region’s schools in recent initiative. Police Scotland Highland and Islands Division targeted speeding motorists around areas of restricted speed limits close to schools for the first fortnight after returning from the summer holidays, in order to ensure the safety of all school attendees and encourage motorists to drive at lesser speeds.
Week Commencing 26th Aaugust 2013 Energy/ Business Services: Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Ltd (part of the SSE Group) is developing proposals for a new 132kilovolt overhead line between the proposed new Thurso South substation at Geiselittle and a new substation at Phillips Mains near Mey. It has recently published a consultation document on the proposals, which can be viewed at http://www.sse.com/GillsBayRadial/ProjectInformation Two consultation events will be held in Caithness: at Mey Hall on Thursday 5th September 11am-2.30pm and 5pm-7.30pm; and in Caithness Horizons, Thurso on Friday 6th September from 3pm-7.30pm A group of local businesses – including Wick Harbour Authority and Scrabster Harbour Trust - travelled to Lowestoft this week to look in detail at the offshore wind operations base already established there.
A week long summer school was held in late July for students of Thurso, Wick and Farr High School students in 4th, 5th & 6th years to prepare them for the world of work. The course, organised by DSRL (Dounreay Site restoratiopn Ltd) on behalf of the NDA (Nuclear Decommissioning Agency), was supported by North Highland College and Skills Development Scotland.
Ther eis a Dounreay site newspaper published online each month. The issue for August can be seen at - http://goo.gl/W7ihcF.
Energy/ Business Services: Members of the Partnership met this week with representatives of Global Energy Group and the Nigg Skills Academy as we continue to develop proposals to ensure that our area workforce is prepared to take advantage of future employment opportunities. Whilst the Caithness Chamber of Commerce-led “Make The Right Connections” programme has been helping to support diversification efforts in a range of sectors, there are a number of very useful lessons from the Nigg model that will help inform decisions by partners.
A series of 19 Highland Council Ward forums are being held across the Highlands to seek the views of the public on local police and fire services. The first meetings are being held at Portree and Golspie on Monday 2 September and they run until 30 October.