Scottish Water's record-breaking programme of replacing old water mains is about to benefit the small Caithness community of Auckengill. 3.5 kilometres of cement pipes thought to date from the 50s is to be replaced with new pipes made from tough plastic in an investment worth £190,000.
A bid is to be made by The Highland Council to the Scottish Government for a further £1,668,000 of grant aid to fully fund the repairs to council properties/infrastructure and community assets caused by the storm damage of October last year. In March, the Council has received a grant of £4 million towards the repair bill.
Spring 2008 will bring the arrival of the fastest ferry over the Pentland Firth. A new catamaran state of the art high speed ferry will whisk passengers from Gills terminal in Caithnes over to Orkney.
A new section of website focusing on the regeneration efforts in Caithness and North Sutherland has been launched. The importance of the work now going on cannot be underestimated and a look at the bottom of this page shows the bodies involved in this new process to find a new future for the far north post Dounreay.
The Sunday Times Travel Magazine poll reveals noisy neighbours are the hotel extra you could most do without - London 10th August, 2007. In a survey released today by The Sunday Times Travel Magazine noisy neighbours are most to blame for good getaways going bad.
ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS DECOMMISSIONING PROGRESS The annual report on progress to decommission Dounreay has been published by UKAEA, which is responsible for carrying out the safe clean-up and demolition of the site on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). It covers the 12-month period from April 1, 2006.
Plans have been announced to help make Inverness a car free zone on 19 September 2007. Organisers of Car Free Day 2007 'AlternativeNess' are putting the final touches to a range of travel options and incentives designed to encourage commuters to leave the car at home for the day.
The window and door Industry are lobbying the government to get the VAT on energy efficient windows reduced to 5% in-line with other energy efficient products. The petition is currently available for signatures on the 10 Downing Street web site at See The Petition HERE The petitioner has given the following details to back the case for a reduction - Energy Saving Recommended (ESR) windows (rated A-C by the British Fenestration Ratings Council) are proven to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the home.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall today opened a visitor's centre built in memory of The Late Queen Mother. The £900,000 centre is based at The Castle of Mey, The Queen Mother's former summer residence.
Highland Council have announced the local food supplies they wish to take for catering in its schools, care homes and canteens. In May, Highlands and Islands Local Food Network (HILFN) submitted a combined bid to the Council to provide 76 conventional and 55 organic products, all from local farms and crofts in Highland.
QUOYBRAE, Aberdeen & Northern Marts (31ST July) sold 48 Cattle and 281 Sheep at their Special Sale. Prime bullocks to 126p and £825.30 gross for a 655kg Limousin from D A Budge, Brae-edge, Castletown.
The annual report on progress to decommission the former experimental reactor site at Dounreay is published today by UKAEA, which is responsible for carrying out the safe clean-up and demolition of the site on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). It covers the 12-month period from 1st April 2006.
The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay announces new initiative to enhance use of heritage buildings in the North Highlands The third phase of the North Highland Initiative, which works to promote and develop the economy and support the rural communities of the North Highlands, was officially unveiled by The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay when he visited Castletown in Caithness today. The NHI's Built Environment Programme brings the Initiative together with The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment and The Prince's Regeneration Trust, to help breathe new life into the North Highlands' valuable built heritage of historic buildings, finding new uses for those that are now redundant.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 31st ) sold 45 prime cattle and 144 prime sheep. Prime bullocks (18) averaged 128.9p (-1.6p) and sold to 145p per kg for a 505kg Belgian Blue cross from Castlecraig Farms, Nigg, to Ness Foods, Inverness, and £878.40 gross for a 720kg Limousin from Dochcarty Farm, Dingwall, to Woodhead brothers, Turriff.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 24th) sold 47 prime cattle and 208 prime sheep. Prime bullocks (11) averaged 130.5p (+2.6p) and sold to 140p per kg for a for a 575kg Aberdeen Angus cross from Bridgend, Dingwall, and £831.85 gross for a 635kg Charolais cross from Pithogarty, Tain, both to Woodhead Brothers, Turriff.
Highland Council's new leadership team visited Dounreay on July 20 to see how Scotland's biggest nuclear clean-up project is changing the face of the north Highlands. Recently-elected convener Councillor Sandy Park was accompanied by the authority's new chief executive Alistair Dodds on a tour of the £2.9 billion project to decommission the fast reactor experiment.
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY BEING CONDUCTED FOR PROPOSED NEW LOW LEVEL WASTE FACILITIES Site characterisation work for the proposed new low-level waste facilities at Dounreay continues this week with a geophysical survey being conducted on the old runway area to the east of the site. The survey will use techniques such as seismic and ground penetrating radar to build up a picture of the rock and soils underlying the proposed low-level waste facilities site.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd, (July 18th) sold 1,384 store cattle in the Anniversary show and sale. The Judge, Mr Alan Turnbull of Meadowend, Clackmannan, chose a 510kg senior Limousin heifer from J Munro & Son, Invercharron, Ardgay, which realised £760 to D Morrison, No.
Scottish Ministers have today published a £3.6 billion rail blueprint aimed at cutting journey times, increasing capacity and meeting rising passenger demand up to 2014. The plan details what Ministers want the rail industry to deliver between 2009 and 2014 - and the money from the existing transport budget to deliver it.
A unique training course that educates participants in all aspects of the seafood industry is to be piloted in Inverness in August. A small Highland training company, the Fish Industry Training Association (FITA), has partnered with fisheries colleges in several EU nations to develop a new opportunity that is a first for the UK: the Mare Nostrum Project.
