Residents and Day Attenders from Bayview House in Thurso can now go on-line to keep in touch with families and friends.   B.T connections have provided funding for a laptop and internet access for the Care Home residents while the Dounreay Communities Fund donated £250 towards a laptop and broadband connection for Day Attenders of The Highland Council run facility.   ... [more]

If you are heading for Inverness on Saturday 17th or Sunday 18th July your jouney may be affected by the Rod Stewart concert.   On Saturday 17 July Rod Stewart will be performing at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in Inverness and temporary road restrictions will be in place before, during and after the concert.   ... [more]

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has appointed a new Chief Executive Alex Paterson, currently the economic and community development organisation's Director of Regional Competitiveness, will take up the top post on Monday 2 August.   Mr Paterson has been a director with HIE for the past nine years, initially heading up its Developing Skills group.   ... [more]

Highland Communities encourages to put forward projects for Broadband improvement funding Rural communities across the Highlands are being encouraged to put forward bids for a share of a million Euro fund that could bring enhanced Broadband to their area including improved coverage and faster connections.   Following an announcement last week by the Scottish Government that funding was now available, The Highland Leader Programme is encouraging interested communities to make contact with their local LEADER representative to start the application process.   ... [more]

Council welcomes Scottish Government funding for new home building in the Highlands.   Fifty five new homes are to be built in the Highlands by The Highland Council with the help of £1.65 million from the Scottish Government's 'Incentivising New Council House Building Fund'.   ... [more]

Eighteen Highland students graduated through the University of Aberdeen this week at a ceremony held in the Town House, Inverness.   Celebrating their qualifications as new teachers were sixteen students receiving the Professional Graduate Diploma in Education by Distance Learning (Primary).   ... [more]

People in the Highlands are being asked to make their views known on 'Pressured Area Status' concerning socially rented housing provided by The Highland Council and housing associations.   Many communities in Highland are already covered by Pressured Area Status designation which over the last 5 years has helped to prevent social rented housing being sold through the Right to Buy.   ... [more]

Around 13,600 Highland Council housing tenants will receive a letter and questionnaire this week inviting them to make their opinions known on a review of council house rents and service charges throughout the Highlands.   In May 2010, members of the Council's Housing and Social Work Committee approved a major review of the Council's housing rents and service charges and the council is currently consulting tenants individually and local tenants groups.   ... [more]

Highland Youth Voice, the elected youth parliament for the Highlands recently met for their summer conference and was invited to take part in the Highland Council's discussions on the budget.   The young people were joined by Council Chief Executive Alistair Dodds, Budget Leader David Alston, Convener Sandy Park and Director of Finance, Alan Geddes to discuss the budget proposals.   ... [more]

The Highland Council today (Thursday 24th June 2010) included funding for a replacement Wick High School in its new five-year building programme.   The estimated cost of the new school is £34.3 million - £18.4 million of which will be funded by the Scottish Government.   ... [more]

School projects are given priority in the spending plans agreed by The Highland Council for the next five years and beyond.  More than £150 million has been set aside for school improvements or new schools.   ... [more]

The public is being invited to a "drop in " session and a public meeting later this month to consider the options open to the Council for the upgrade/replacement of Wick High School.   The "drop in" session is being held on Monday 28 June at the Assembly Rooms, Wick, between 10 am and 5 pm.   ... [more]

Have you ever thought about trying something new, artistic and creative? Take up music lessons from a qualified teacher.   Tuition is given in Piano, Voice and 'Cello, and has no age limit.   ... [more]

People who work with children and young people in Caithness have recently been trained to identify and understand the signs of solvent abuse.   Training was organised and sponsored by The Highland Council's Youth Action Team and Caithness Drug & Alcohol Forum and delivered by the charity Re-Solv that specialises in volatile substance abuse training.   ... [more]

FREE Business Gateway Workshops For New and Existing Businesses.   Thinking of starting your own business in the next few months, or developing your existing business - then contact Jennifer Irvine, Regional Development Officer, Business Gateway, Caithness.   ... [more]

A £2.4 million project to place 350 fresh academic minds in ambitious businesses across the region is being introduced by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).   Over the next three years small and medium sized businesses and social enterprises from across the region will be supported to employ university students, graduates and post-graduates for up to a year.   ... [more]

A new group is to be set up to help shape the future delivery of local health services in West Caithness.   A reference group is to be established to look at the health needs of local people and to consider the best way to meet these needs in the future within the available resources.   ... [more]

The Highland Council is to consult with the public over plans to extend the number of ways the public can pay Council bills, such as Council Tax, Non-Domestic Rates and rent.   A bonus for the Council is that it can save at least £400,000 per year through changing the way it collects payments.   ... [more]

A total of 2,300 householders have signed up for the new Citizens' Panel established by The Highland Council to gauge satisfaction with Council services.  A performance survey will this week be posted or emailed to panel members seeking their views on a wide range of council services, including contact with the council; satisfaction with services; community life; and how the council can save money given the challenging economic environment and reductions in public funding.   ... [more]

New harmonised and non-discriminating terms and conditions of employment for staff of The Highland Council have been agreed and will be implemented no later than 1 October 2010.   Following a ballot, trade unions have accepted collective agreement on the Council's proposals and the wording of the agreement will soon be signed by all parties.   ... [more]