MSPs to debate housing crisis
MSPs will seek solutions to Scotland’s housing emergency during a debate at Holyrood today.
The government’s record has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months, with Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnstone stating that housing issues are being acutely felt across the two regions.
The Conservative MSP has said the housing crisis is depriving rural areas of young people to be able to live and work locally, and their active participation in community life is vital.
The Scottish Government has committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 – with at least 10 per cent in remote, rural and island areas.
While through its Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan the government’s pledges include:
- Supporting affordable and community-led housing delivery
- Bringing more empty homes back into use
- Providing more homes for key workers
- Commissioning research on affordable home ownership in rural and island areas
However, Labour MSP Mark Griffin who is leading the debate has asked that the government set that an interim target for 5,500 houses to be completed in rural areas by 2026.
Winter jags: drop-in clinics announced
NHS Highland has announced further drop-in clinics for winter vaccinations across Skye and Lochalsh and the West Highlands.
Drop-in clinics will take place at Portree Community Centre this week on Thursday 23rd November and Friday 24th November between 10am and 12pm and 1.30 and 4.30.
And on Wednesday 13th December between 5pm and 6.30pm
Drop-in clinics will also be held at Applecross Community Hall on the morning of Tuesday 28th November from 9.30 to 11.30 and, at Torridon Community Hall, also on 28th November, from 2pm to 4pm.
Appointments are not necessary for any of the drop-ins clinics.
Council tenants’ input “vital” in rent consultation
The Highland Council is asking all tenants to share their views on the rent they will pay next year as part of a consultation.
Last year it was agreed to keep the rent increase at four percent which was significantly below the level of inflation.
This year amid ongoing challenges brought by the cost of living crisis, the council has produced an information sheet for tenants detailing the options being proposed for the year ahead.
The local authority has said it is vital that they gather views from tenants especially as they may have been affected by the council’s suspension of non-essential repairs
The rent consultation will run in Highland until 11 December 2023, and the feedback received from tenants will inform a report for the Council’s Housing and Property Committee to consider when they set the level of rent and service charges in January for council tenants for the year 2024/25.
You can take part in the survey here.
Skye talents to open Beat the Drum show
Young Skye talents Ali MacFarlane and Iain Cormack will take the stage at the Portree Community Centre tonight in support of leading Runrig tribute act Beat The Drum.
Ali MacFarlane starred at this year’s Skye Live Festival and was awarded the Provost of Falkirk medal at the Royal National Mòd in Paisley.
She will be join by fellow islander Iain Cormack who made headlines with his performance at the Mòd as he claimed the coveted men’s gold medal performing Fàilte don Eilean Sgitheanach – forty years on from his father Arthur Cormack’s success with the song at Gaeldom’s premier cultural festival.
Skye’s Edinbane Lodge named among world’s elite eateries
Award-winning Skye eatery Edinbane Lodge has been included a list of top restaurants across the globe.
The north Skye establishment features in the La Liste 2023, which charts the top restaurants across the world through more than 300 sources from travel guides to press and consumer reviews.
Edinbane Lodge has been ranked as the third best restaurant in Scotland and among the world elite.
In June, Calum Montgomery, the chef-proprietor of Edinbane Lodge, was selected as the nation’s top chef at the award ceremony at Platform in Glasgow on Monday.
Calum claimed the Scottish Chef of the Year accolade at the Scotsman Food and Drink’s Scran Awards.
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MSP Forbes urges feedback on remote and rural healthcare
MSP Kate Forbes is urging people from across the Highlands to take part in a new inquiry on healthcare in rural and remote areas.
The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee launched a consultation last week, which aims to improve services across rural Scotland.
The member for Skye and Lochalsh said that healthcare is one of the most frequently raised issues with her and that she is in regular dialogue with both NHS Highland and the Scottish Government.
She cited healthcare provision in north Skye as one of the key live issues across the region.
Ms Forbes said that the inquiry is an opportunity for people across the Highlands to let the Scottish Parliament know how healthcare is functioning in their own locality – what’s working well, and what could be improved.
You can give your opinions by visiting the consultation page here.
Sir Lewis Ritchie on Skye for update on key healthcare report
The author of a crucial health care report for Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross is in Portree today to assess the progress of the paper’s recommendations.
Sir Lewis Ritchie will join community members, health care workers, and senior management from NHS Highland at a meeting at the Tigh na Sgire Highland Council chamber in the Skye capital from 12pm to 2pm this afternoon (Tuesday 20th June)
There will be a full review of the report’s recommendations, including updates on the number of community beds across the area, and the provision of urgent care at Portree Hospital, which at present is restricted to weekends and bank holidays only.
Community rallies in support of family of Balmacara man
More than £2,500 has been raised to support the family of a man from the Balmacara area who died in a crash on the A87.
Thirty-seven year old Joe Dutfield died following crash on the A87, between Kyle of Lochalsh and Balmacara which happened on 1st June.
On Sunday, a group called Dutfield Family Friends set up a crowdfunding page with the aim of raising £5,000 to support Joe Dutfield’s family.
The campaign has raised more than £2,500 in just two days to support Mr Dutfield’s family.
For more information or to donate to the JustGiving, click on the image below.
Skye chef “blown away” by national award
Skye chef Calum Montgomery has said he has been “blown away” after winning the Scottish Chef of the Year accolade at the Scotsman Food and Drink’s Scran Awards.
Calum Montgomery, the chef-proprietor of Edinbane Lodge, was selected as the nation’s top chef at the award ceremony at Platform in Glasgow on Monday.
Reacting on social media, Calum thanked the judging panel and said he had so much respect for all his fellow finalists.
He added that he was genuinely blown away just to see his name alongside them.
In March, Edinbane Lodge received the coveted Restaurant of the Year honour at the Scottish Excellence Awards.
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National acclaim for Skye’s Edinbane Lodge
A Skye restaurant has claimed the Scottish Restaurant of the Year award at a prestigious ceremony in Edinburgh.
Edinbane Lodge, run by chef-proprietor Calum Montgomery, saw off competition from acclaimed eateries in Edinburgh, Fort Augustus, Glasgow, and St Andrews to win the coveted Restaurant of the Year honour at the Scottish Excellence Awards held on Thursday night at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh.
Calum and his family transformed a derelict 16-century hunting lodge into an award-winning restaurant which has already claimed multiple accolades including becoming the only restaurant in the Highlands to receive Four AA rosettes.
Commenting on the winning credentials of the Skye restaurant, judges said: “Calum and his team were above exceptional in all aspects of the criteria including benchmarking, innovation, sustainability and ethics.
“With a very strong list of finalists, all those who were short-listed made the final call very difficult, such was the calibre of applicants. “
Montgomery was also a finalist in the Chef of the Year category of the Excellence Awards, described as ‘the ultimate accolade for businesses and individuals working in Scottish hospitality.’
Skye’s Duisdale House Hotel in Sleat finished as the runner-up in Group Hotel of the Year Award to Glasgow’s Radisson Red, but Sonas which owns the Duisdale as part of a three-hotel group on the island, did celebrate success on the night as its general manager Andreas Maszczyk won the employee of the year award
Health group urge NHS Highland to fill island vacancies
Island campaign group SOS-NHS Skye are urging NHS Highland to advertise 15 health care vacancies at a Portree nursing home as a matter of urgency.
SOS-NHS Skye, which has recently called the local health authority into question over its recruitment process, said that 12 health care assistants and three staff nurses were urgently needed at Home Farm nursing home.
They claimed that NHS Highland has not advertised the posts for several weeks and are calling on the regional organisation to do so as a matter of urgency.
In a statement to Radio Skye, the local health authority defended its commitment to strengthen its workforce amid criticism from the group that is only currently advertised eight of its 50-plus vacancies on the island.
Addressing the claims that key health care posts not being advertised, a spokesperson for NHS Highland said that job vacancies will be at various stages in the recruitment process – this includes closing the vacancy, reviewing applications and, if none are suitable, re-advertising the position.
They said that this can lead to a gap between reviewing applications and deciding to re-advertise as we are unable to advertise the role again until this process is complete.
The spokesperson went on to add that the local health authority are “committed to strengthening the workforce and will continue to find new and innovative ways to encourage people to think about a career with NHS Highland.”
New isles ferries set for further delays
Two new lifeline ferries under construction at the Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, which are already running five years overdue, will be delayed by several months more, Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, Mr Swinney revealed that the handovers dates for both vessels would be pushed back by a matter of months following an update from the chief executive of Ferguson Marine.
The MV Glen Sannox is now scheduled for completion for autumn 2023, rather than the estimated date at the end of May 2023, meanwhile, the second vessel simply named 802, will be handed over no later than December 2024, as opposed to the scheduled timeline of March 2024.
In his announcement, Mr Swinney also stated that the Scottish Goverment would allocate a further £6 million, in addition to the previous capital funding commitment of £15 million for the 2023-23 financial year.
The statement by the Deputy First Minister, came after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon faced questions why bonus payments of more than £87,000 had been paid to senior managers at the Ferguson Marine Post Glasgow, as was revealed on Tuesday by Audit Scotland.
The Audit Scotland report also stated that the two vessels are currently estimated to cost £293 million, with delivery already five years late. Despite additional Scottish Government funding in 2022/23.
Commenting on the matter, Mr Swinney said that the report rightly criticizes the poor governance involved in the process.
He said he agreed with that criticism and sought to assure the Parliament that new arrangements have been put in place – at his request – to ensure such an eventuality does not arise in the future.
He added: “The Scottish Government stands by its commitment to the shipbuilding communities in Inverclyde, and to our Island communities that will rely on the vessels currently being built at Ferguson Marine.
“I deeply regret that there have been delays to the delivery of the vessels and significantly higher costs than were predicted at the time of the tender award.”
The first phase of major works at Uig harbour to accommodate the arrival of one of the new ferries which will serve Skye, Lochmaddy and Tarbert are currently being undertaking.
Ferry services are expected to resume on Thursday 23rd March after a nine-week closure.
Valtos + Siiga release new single ‘Lose Control’
Award-winning Skye musical duo Valtos have today dropped a new single in collaboration with acclaimed singer-song writer and fellow islander Richard MacIntrye, better known as Siiga.
Lose Control is the second release in an ambitious project for Valtos, who are working with a diverse group of musicians throughout 2023, releasing a new single every 4-6 weeks.
It started with the release of Liberate with Project Smok in February, just after their collaborative sell-out Celtic Connections show, and will continue through until the end of the year.
Chatting with Radio Skye’s Adam Gordon ahead Friday’s release of Lose Control, Valtos’ Martyn MacDonald and Daniel Docherty spoke about the fantastic response to their last single Liberate, their creative process on the new single, and their excitement about playing in front of a home crowd at this year’s Skye Live festival in May.
Click here to listen/download Lose Control
News by Adam Gordon.
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