High Life Highland has entered a five-year partnership with OOLIO UK to provide an Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system for the Inverness Castle Experience. OOLIO UK's flagship ‘SwiftPOS' is a digital checkout and till system that uses award-winning technology to record customer sales, enable payment transactions, monitor stock levels and more.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee of Highland Council on Thursday 22 August 2024, members had the opportunity to consider the progress being made across the range of interventions under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund priorities of Communities and Places, Supporting Local Business and People and Skills. The Council successfully secured £1,46m for 2022/23 and £2,46m for 2023/24 and £5,53m for 2024/25 which is a mix of revenue and capital funds.
Leading orbital launch services company, Orbex, is to set up a base in London while also expanding its headquarters in Scotland. Orbex will become the first UK rocket manufacturer to establish a base in London.
Achmelvich beach made the latest Times listing of the top beaches in the UK. Achmelvich beach, near Lochinver is just one of many superb beaches in the north and many did not make the list.
The Highland Council's Early Learning & Childcare (North) Consultation is now live, and we want to hear from those living in the Lairg, Dornoch, Golspie, Farr, Scourie, Durness, Kinlochbervie, Tongue, Wick and Thurso area. The survey is open until Wednesday 31 July 2024.
This is an UPDATE which now includes details of a location open tomorrow for set periods in Lairg. Please see text below marked in red If you have still to receive or return your postal vote for the Highland constituencies of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; or Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire please note the following advice.
Time is running out to apply for free voter ID ahead of the UK general election. The deadline is 5pm Wednesday 26 June.
The Highland Council have awarded the Naver Bridge replacement contract to Wills Bros Civil Engineering Ltd with set-up works commencing soon after 1 August 2024. The project is required to replace the aged single track wrought iron plate girder bridge over the River Naver South of Bettyhill.
Clean Air Day is the UK's largest campaign dedicated to raising awareness on air pollution and the focus this year is on educating the public about air quality and encouraging active travel and alternative transport options. To celebrate the day, the Council's Environmental Health Team are organising an event at Falcon Square, Inverness which will be a good opportunity to raise awareness on air pollution and share knowledge on sustainable travel options.
Unemployment in the UK rose to 4.4% at the end of April 2024. While this is by no means a worrying level of joblessness for an economy, it is the highest since September 2021, in the second year of the COVID pandemic, when it reached 4.4%.
The Sutherland Area Committee has allocated funding from Community Regeneration Fund (CRF) underspend at a recent committee meeting (14 May 2024) to enable a team of four Seasonal Access Rangers to begin patrolling the NC500 and coastal areas until the end of October, and possibly some continuation over winter. Rangers will patrol sites and engage with visitors to ensure awareness of the Outdoor Access Code, and other legislation, such as parking and environmental health.
A number of applications were awarded Community Regeneration Funding totalling £195,872.38 in Sutherland. Community Regeneration Funding is an umbrella term for a number of funds that are available for communities and organisations to access in Highland.
Progress at Sutherland Spaceport continues at pace and we're happy to share the latest developments that have taken place over the last few months, working alongside our Principal Contractor, Dynamic Concepts. Here's a quick overview our recent achievements, some behind the scenes photos and an update about what lies ahead.
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The Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards 2024 is being launched today, with 16 exciting categories open for entries. Now in its 19th year the awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate the breadth of industry talent based in the Highlands and Islands.
The Scottish Government is currently conducting a substantial review of permitted development rights (PDR) as part of its wider planning reform programme. The review is being taken forward on a phased basis, with each phase focusing on new and extended PDR for specific types of development.
As the number of adverts on digital platforms promoting illegal waste collection services hits an all-time high, Scotland's environmental regulator is tackling environmental criminality in the online world. The digital regulation pilot led by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has already identified that between 50 to 60% of businesses advertising on social media could be breaking the law by operating without holding the required waste carrier licence - and people handing over their waste may be contributing to flytipping and other waste crime.
The number of overdue invoices in Scotland reached a 16-month high in February, according to new research from R3, the UK's insolvency and restructuring trade body. R3's analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that business in Scotland had 428,824 unpaid invoices on their books last month - the highest monthly total since October 2022’s figure of 593,114.
Orbex, the only UK owned orbital launch services and rocket manufacturing company, has successfully patented its REFLIGHT reusable rocket technology following patent approval in several European markets as well as the United States. This protection was based on the patent grant by the European Patent Office.
A new high-quality toilet facility to help alleviate pressures at Gairloch has now opened. The project was brought to fruition by a community partnership driven by Gairloch Area Development Ltd, supported by The Highland Council and Visit Scotland.
