A Festival to Celebrate the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the North Highlands You Like Wild - check the three areas festival programmes here:- 28 September - 2 October 2012 - Mackay Country, Sutherland 3 - 10 October 2012 - Assynt, Sutherland 10 - 14 October - Castletown to John o'Groats, Caithness For full details see the wild North Web site at http://northhighlandsscotland.com/wildnorthfestival/ The Wild North Festival is a new initiative which focuses on encouraging enjoyment, understanding and awareness of the rich natural heritage of the North Highland area through events and activities for visitors and local people. It is hoped that the 2012 pilot festival will be shaped into an annual moveable feast of North Highland culture, activities, nature and heritage.
Two meetings in a series of 12 public consultation events on The Highland Council's budget for 2012 - 2017 are being held in: the Norseman Hotel, Wick on Tuesday 11 September; and Durness Village Hall on Thursday 13 September, both starting at 6:30pm. The meetings are joint arrangements of the Council's Ward Forums for Thurso, Wick and Landward Caithness Wards and the North, West and Central Sutherland Wards.
WILD NORTH FESTIVAL http://northhighlandsscotland.com/wildnorthfestival/ http://www.facebook.com/WildNorthFestival ART EXHIBITION, BEN LOYAL HOTEL, TONGUE OPENING 28 SEPTEMBER AT 6.30pm & OPEN UNTIL 14 OCTOBER 2012 Dear Artist September 28th 2012 will be the opening day of the pilot Wild North Festival and you can be a part of it. You are invited to submit 1 or 2 pieces (more by arrangement) on the theme "Wild North" for the above exhibition.
MIGDALE Hospital in Bonar Bridge was officially opened by Michael Matheson, the Minister for Public Health on 22 August 2012. The hospital, which was built at a cost of more than £8 million and opened for patients in June 2011, replaced the old Migdale Hospital which was almost 150-years-old.
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You can find out more about the Highland council budget and contribute your ideas a the meeting. If you would like to contribute but not at the meeting check how you can do it in writing or online.
Councillor Deirdre Mackay who represents the East Sutherland and Edderton Ward has unanimously been elected as Chairman of the Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee. The committee met yesterday (Monday 20 August) for the first time at The Highland Council's Drummuie Offices in Golspie.
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) will boast record numbers of students and generate an estimated £22.5 million into the economy after the Scottish Government invested £5.5 million to fund 1,000 additional places. The extra places were created as part of the Scottish Government's commitment to ensure every 16 to 19 year old in Scotland has a place in learning or education.
Energy Minister Fergus Ewing has launched guidance designed to make planning applications for wind energy developments run more smoothly for developers, planning authorities and the communities affected. The guidance is a result of the GP Wind Project, a Scottish-Government led EU project which looked at the barriers to development of wind energy and ways of reconciling renewable energy objectives with environmental concerns, and actively involving communities in the planning process.
The new boat lift at Lochinver Harbour was pressed into service only hours after Harbours Staff of The Highland Council were trained in its use to rescue the damaged fishing vessel "Fortitude" UL 48 on Thursday evening (16 August 2012). The "Fortitude" had struck rocks and was taking water off Lochinver during the afternoon of the 16 August.
First Minister Alex Salmond this week gave the green light for a pioneering clean energy hub in Scotland, including Europe's largest hydrogen bus fleet, as he announced funding of up to £3.3 million for the EU-backed project. The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise funding will enable Aberdeen City Council, supported by Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, to start the project's first phase with an order for 10 hydrogen fuel-cell buses - which produce water vapour instead of carbon monoxide and other harmful emissions.
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published results from the 2012 Survey Of Bank Advances to Scottish Agriculture. This survey is based on information collected from banks and mortgage companies operating in Scotland, and the results detail the total outstanding balance of advances from banks and mortgage companies to Scottish agriculture on 31st May 2012 - it is not an estimate of new lending.
Back to school: Primary pupils: Autumn term begins on 14th August Secondary pupils: Autumn term begins on 15th August Autumn Autumn term starts - 14 August 2012 (primary pupils) - 15 August 2012 (secondary pupils) Autumn term ends - 5 October 2012 Winter Winter term starts - 23 October 2012 (primary pupils) - 24 October 2012 (secondary pupils) Winter term ends - 20 December 2012 Spring Spring term starts - 7 January 2012 Mid term break - 11 to 15 February 2013 Spring term ends - 28 March 2013 Summer Summer term begins - 15 April 2013 Summer term ends - 28 June 2013 Public holidays Good Friday - 29 March 2013 Easter Monday - 1 April 2013 May Day - 6 May 2013 In-service days The first day back after summer - Monday 13 August 2012 (Primary and Secondary) The second day back after summer - Tuesday 14 August 2012 (Secondary only) The first day back after October break - Monday 22 October 2012 (Primary and Secondary) The second day back after October break - Tuesday 23 October 2012 (Secondary only) Three days following the February mid-term break - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 13, 14 and 15 February 2013 (Primary and Secondary).
North Highland communities, landowners and businesses are being invited to make suggestions in a Highland Council 'Call for Sites' exercise which takes place from 8 August to 3 October 2012. The Council hopes the exercise will identify sites which may be suitable to support the marine renewables sector.
SSE is now recruiting for its new innovative training programme which offers 16-24 year olds in the Highlands the opportunity of a career within the energy industry. The 12 month programme will offer 28 young people the opportunity to gain some valuable hands on experience of life in the energy industry and the skills learned will help recruits develop a successful career in the future.
Nominations sought for Scottish Health Awards 2012. The search is on for top health workers and teams across the Highlands as the Scottish Health Awards 2012 open for nominations.
Sales volumes soar whilst average property prices decrease by 0.2 per cent. Registers of Scotland published statistics today showing that the total volume of sales across Scotland registered during the first quarter of 2012/13 was 18,514, an increase of 9.2% on the same quarter the previous year.
Official statistics published today show that over the year the volume of retail sales in Scotland grew by 0.6 per cent, but with a small fall in the volume and value of retail sales in Scotland in the second quarter of this year. On an annual basis, we continue to see growth in the sector with the volume of retail sales, growing by 0.6 per cent, which is in-line with GB growth rates.
Graduates in Scotland will be offered more chances to take on internships at Scottish firms following the investment of around £200,000 by the Scottish Government. The funding will support Adopt-an-Intern, a programme with a proven track record of helping graduates into permanent jobs, and will go towards another 110 placements in 2012/13.
