The 8,780 tonne ferry Hamnavoe, which normally plies directly 28 miles from Scrabster in Caithness to Stromness, Orkney, sailed over the weekend on the Pentland Firth's 'Short Sea Route'. It is the seaway that is used on a daily basis by her 'rival' ship Pentalina.
Update Week commencing 19 June 2017 Tourism Food & Drink: · CNSRP partner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) this week published a baseline report on the economic impact of the North Coast 500 route which covers the whole of the north mainland. The report highlights the impact of the route's global profile, and suggests that 200 new jobs could be created as a result.
A £10 million fund to build affordable homes across the Highlands has been announced by Housing Minister Kevin Stewart today (23rd June). The Highland Infrastructure Fund is a partnership with The Highland Council and will support and accelerate the delivery of affordable housing across the region.
Communities Secretary, Angela Constance, said:"Scottish building regulations state that cladding on high rise domestic buildings built since 2005, and cladding added to existing high rise domestic buildings since 2005, should be made of non-combustible materials or a cladding system that has met stringent fire tests. “External cladding on high rise domestic buildings built before 2005 has to meet a Class 0 classification which was the most demanding anti-flame spread classification at that time.
Plans to accelerate the growth of Scotland's fruit and veg sector will be the focus of a new industry group. The value of the fruit and veg sector has grown significantly over the last 10 years with fruit production increasing 86% to £114 million and vegetables up 50% to £122 million.
Update for the 2016-17 financial year. The carry forward of funding into 2017-18, first announced as part of the Budget, was confirmed today as the Scottish Government published the provisional cash outturn for 2016-17.
Funding to support food and drink businesses work with each other to come up with innovative ways to sell their products has been launched by Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing. The Collaboration Innovation Fund, which is supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, is part of a package to help businesses who are looking to innovate and follows up on the recent launch of The ‘Make Innovation Happen' service.
Taskforce will consider steps to ensure better representation. A new group to ensure women are better represented in farming has been announced by the First Minister.
Caithness & North Sutherland Fund's latest grant assessment round has awarded over £17k to community projects throughout the Caithness & North Sutherland area. The Caithness Broch Project was granted £10,000 towards costs of holding a Caithness Broch Festival, consisting of a programme of participative archaeological activities that will be held throughout the year focusing around two selected Caithness broch sites.
The agriculture sector in Scotland is showing signs of growth as famers successfully navigate uncertainties linked to currency fluctuations and future subsidies, analysis by Clydesdale Bank shows. The farming sector in Scotland saw a drop in Total Income from Farming from £775 million in 2014 to £653 million in 2015.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (June, 21st) sold 139 store cattle and 12 adult head of breeding cattle. Bullocks (73) averaged 249.1p and sold to 381.8p per kg for a 110kg Limousin cross from 1 Kilbride, Broadford, and £1,230.00 gross for a 630kg Saler cross from Milton Farm, Aberarder.
The Leader of The Highland Council has written to HMICS to express concerns regarding a potential change to the creation of a single National Database Enquiry Unit (NDEU) for the whole of Scotland, based in Inverness. Leader of the Council, Margaret Davidson said: "I have written to the Mr Penman HMICS to express my concerns regarding the proposed changes to the Inverness Police Control Room.
HMICS PUBLISHES Thematic Inspection of the Scottish Police Authority - Phase 1 Review of Openness and Transparency. A review by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) into the openness and transparency of the way that the Scottish Police Authority conducts its business has concluded that there is a need for the Authority to genuinely engage with its stakeholders and listen to the views of those with an interest in the policing of Scotland.
The Highland Council's People Committee has agreed membership of the Council's new Adult Services Development and Scrutiny Sub-Committee. The Adult Services Development and Scrutiny Sub-Committee will ensure specific consideration is given to the delivery of adult social care services, as part of an integrated approach to all community care services, and will oversee on behalf of the People Committee, the commissioning of social care services for adults from NHS Highland.
A new bridge is to be installed linking the north end of Inverness Campus with Inverness Business and Retail Park. The bridge will cross the main Inverness-Perth railway line and enable access for pedestrians, cyclists and buses.
Scrabster and Lossiemouth harbours have secured funding through the Highland & Moray Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) to install new pontoons to cater for the increasing demand for berthing space. Lossiemouth also received funding towards an innovative dredging system to allow regular dredging to be carried out ensuring the pontoons will be accessible at all times.
A bill to replace Air Passenger Duty in Scotland has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. The Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill sets the structure of the new tax and how it will be collected and managed by Revenue Scotland.
All information released by the Scottish Government in response to FOI requests will be published online from 3 July, in line with a commitment to open and transparent government. Information released in response to FOI requests will be made available on https://beta.gov.scot as requests are answered, allowing anyone to search and access this information.
Rod Mackenzie has been appointed as Convener of the Crofting Commission by Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing. A life-long crofter, Mr Mackenzie is one of the six commissioners recently elected to the board by crofters from across the Highlands and Islands.
More than 20 academics, policy-makers and stakeholders from across Europe are in Inverness this week to share ideas on policies to help small to medium enterprises (SMEs) become more globally competitive. The ‘EU Clusters3 Interregional Conference and Workshop' has been organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and takes place at Eden Court from 19 to 21 June.