PORTREE LINK ROAD

Scottish Water has said work will start in the coming weeks to divert a water main ahead of the Portree Link Road construction.
The £1.9million project will connect the A87 and A855, easing the volume of traffic going through the centre of Portree.
Highland Council has told Radio Skye the road is expected to be completed by the Autumn.

CROFTING

Changes to the new Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill have been welcomed by the Scottish Crofting Federation.

The body says a number of key improvements have been made to the legislation, including stronger rules on environmental use, tighter compliance for owner occupiers, and new measures to prevent the unauthorised splitting of grazing shares.

But concerns remain over changes affecting common grazing. The Federation is warning against landowners being given more scope to object, potentially weakening the position of working crofters.

SCF Chief Executive, Donna Smith, said:
“Whilst we very much welcome the general path this Bill is taking, we will be urging the government to consider making significant changes to the Bill at stage 3 with respect to crofter led environmental initiatives on common grazings to ensure that any benefits derived from these belong to active crofters.
“The concern is that without this, there is a real risk that “green” lairds will take advantage of the situation and will try to force crofters into unfair agreements over carbon credits. We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with both the Government and cross party MSPs over the coming weeks on these matters.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.

FALASGAIR

Scottish Fire and Rescue has reminded crofters and land managers on Skye, Raasay and Lochalsh to take care around controlled burning.
The service is urging anyone planning a burn to notify the fire control room in advance, have a clear burn plan in place, and make sure enough people are available to manage the fire safely.
They’re also advising land managers to check weather conditions, ensure proper fire breaks are in place, and never leave a fire unattended until it’s fully extinguished.
Scottish Fire and Rescue has said anyone whose burn gets out of control should call 999 immediately.

RNLI

Volunteers at Portree RNLI have been involved in rescuing a person who fell in a remote sea cave on the Trotternish coast, once used as a hiding place by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The Crew of the Stanley Watson Barker worked alongside the Scottish Ambulance Service and a Coastguard helicopter to bring the casualty to safety.
It comes after a busy week for the lifeboat, which was also launched on Tuesday in response to reports of flares near Dunvegan Head that turned out to be a false alarm.

MÒD

Entries are open for this year’s Royal National Mòd which is to be held in Glasgow in October. It’s the 12th time the city has hosted the event. Organisers are asking competitors – young and old – to come forward.
Iain Cormack, a former Mòd Gold Medal winner and newly installed conductor of the Portree Gaelic Choir said:
“On a personal level I’m very much looking forward to the National Mòd. I’m looking forward to being back in Glasgow for it. Obivoulsy a new challenge for me on a personal level conducting the Portree Gaelic Choir for the first time but we’ve made a pretty good start. We’re making good progress with our puirt à beul and also our own choice for the Margrat Duncan Memorial Trophy and we’re looking forward to starting on the prescribed piece in the coming weeks.”