People in the Highlands and Islands will be able to vote for an independent candidate with their second vote in the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections for the first time since 2003. James Stockan, an Independent Orkney Islands Councillor of over 13 years, launched his campaign at the end of March 2016 and is now on a tour around the region covering as much ground as he can before the election.
Highland Council Trading Standards have warned of - rates reduction - firms who are targeting local businesses. The Highland Councils Finance Service raised concerns when they began to receive calls from Highland businesses about receiving unsolicited marketing letters.
Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SHE Transmission) has welcomed the Bonar Bridge Residents' Group to the project site. The five members of the group were invited to take a tour of the site that will house a new substation at Loch Buidhe - just north of Bonar Bridge - and will link up via an overhead line connection to a further new substation at Lairg.
The - report it - campaign is a new initiative by The Highland Councils Corporate Fraud Team which is asking residents to help them tackle fraud. The Fraud Team, which is situated in the Finance Service, was established in August 2015 to detect, investigate and prevent all frauds against the Council, including housing tenancy fraud (the use of Council housing by someone not entitled to occupy that home).
Sutherland and Edderton Members of The Highland Council have set aside £15k of funding to let the local communities decide for themselves which projects are needed in their area. Whether you want to organise a club for young people, a healthy living project, a crime prevention idea, a lunch club for older residents, a community arts project, the only limit is your imagination.
The 2016 tourism season has started, and the Flows to the Future project would like to offer tourism businesses the opportunity to discover more about the project and how we hope to engage with visitors over the coming season. Therefore, if you are running a tourism business in Caithness and Sutherland, we would like to invite you to our familiarisation event about the Flow Country peatlands.
New waste and recycling collection calendars for 2016-2018 are now available on The Highland Councils website and at Service Points. The calendars can be downloaded and printed out from www.highland.gov.uk/bindays Type in your street address and the appropriate calendar will appear.
The Highland Council celebrated the historic event of holding two national football cup trophies in the Highlands with a photograph at Highland Council HQ marking the occasion. Provost of Inverness Helen Carmichael (Independent) and Councillor Margaret Paterson (Independent) from Dingwall and Seaforth Ward greeted Club Representatives and examined the silverware.
Learning to become responsible citizens and helping to care for our local community is the theme for a series of events being undertaken by the children of Farr Primary School in Bettyhill, North Sutherland. As a launch activity and also part of their Eco-schools focus, the P1-3 class with teacher Mrs Campbell and P4, 5 and 6 class with Mr Wylie undertook a village litter pick on Wednesday 23rd March 2016.
Wednesday March 30, 2016 10.30am - 1.30pm Castle Bharraich Hill Walk, Tongue Guided walk to this enigmatic castle ruin and beyond over the hill. Meet at Tongue village car park near the bank.
The Highland Council is to seek the views of local communities on the future of Achfary Primary School which has been mothballed since the summer of 2012. Members of the Council's Education, Children and Adult Services Committee have agreed to undertake a public consultation on a proposal to formally close the school.
Land Reform Minister Dr Aileen McLeod today announced the appointment of seven members to the new Scottish Land Fund (SLF) committee. The committee will be chaired by John Watt and is made up of Calum Macleod, Lisa Tennant, David Green, Duncan MacPherson, Anne Lear and Janet Miles.
From Wigtown to Wick, Dundee to Dornoch, or Stranraer to Stornoway, visitors can now embark on a round-trip of Scotland with just one ticket. The Spirit of Scotland Travelpass, launched by VisitScotland in partnership with ScotRail and CalMac will allow people to travel the length and breadth of the country by land, sea and track for one fixed price.
Andy Summers, Highland Council Senior Countryside Ranger for Caithness and Sutherland installing migrating toad crossing ahead road sign. Andy Summers, Highland Council Senior Countryside Ranger for Caithness and Sutherland has been helping the Assynt Field Club put out warning signs for motorists near Lochinver to take care that toads may be crossing the road.
Funding for groups to build their own enterprises. A charity that helps to develop and support entrepreneurs in some of Scotlands poorest communities will be expanded into four new local authority areas thanks to a £225,000 funding boost.
As part of Scottish Tourism Week, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is announcing a £310,000 investment to ensure the region's tourism businesses maximise the benefits from a new £1.2m Digital Tourism Scotland (DTS) programme. HIE is commissioning local tourism groups across the region to carry out a business survey with tourism SMEs.
Week Commencing 14th March 2016. Energy & Business Services Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) held a pre-application consultation event in Wick this week in support of plans related to the onshore infrastructure at Wick Harbour for its proposed offshore windfarm development off the Caithness coast.
Consultation on potential changes. Crofters are being asked for their views about Crofting Commission elections, ahead of next year's vote.
Following the Discover Digital 2016 conference yesterday (17 March 206) which attracted over 200 delegates from business and communities, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) says it's ramping up support to help the region's organisations to innovate using digital. Representatives from business, social enterprises, the healthcare sector, and charity groups attended the Discover Digital event at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, and around 60 people tuned in from around the region for the live webcast.
More than 56,000 workers now employed by Pledge companies. The number of employees working at companies that have made the Scottish Business Pledge has broken through the 56,000 barrier.
