News Archive - January February March 2021
Many  previous items are archived in the Community, Arts, Sports and Business sections


Photos in March in Earlier Years
March 2020   March 2019   March 2018   March 2017   March 2016   March 2015   March 2014

March 2013  March 2012   March 2011   March 2009   March 2008   March 2007

March 2006   March 2005   March 2004   March 2003

Final Service At Bridge Street Church March 2009
Community Groups Benefit From Caithness And North Sutherland Fund Grants
Caithness and North Sutherland Fund Latest Grants
The CNSFund has committed over £79k to community groups in Caithness & North Sutherland in its recent grant rounds. Funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a wide range of community-led projects throughout the Dounreay travel to work area are to benefit from the grant support.
Grants have been awarded to
Strathnaver Museum - Farr North Community Development Trust, - Advocacy Highland,
Wick Gala Committee - Reay Golf Club - Farr High School Parent Council




Caithness International Science Festival 2021 Reaches Out Digitally
Caithness International Science Festival 2021 Online










This year everything is available online. All you need to is book your FREE places.
Community Index
Public Invited To Have Their Say On
Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal And Conservation Area Management Plan
Argyle Square in the Wick Conservation Area
Members of the public are invited to view and comment upon the recently created draft Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal and Conservation Area Management Plan. Pulteneytown remains a unique area of considerable architectural and historic interest. It is Thomas Telford's (1757-1834) only fully executed town plan for the British Fisheries Society, and its most successful investment; in the 19th century it was the largest herring fishing port in Europe. Today, the integrity of the original plan and built form of Pulteneytown remains largely in place. The design of the 19th century Inner and Outer Harbours is still intact.

Membership Of Caithness Voluntary Group Free In 2021
Caithness Voluntary Group Free Membership Join Now
Caithness Voluntary Group has been around for many years helping many groups and individuals with help and assistance on a range of projects and pointing the way to funding and many other sources of assistance.  Funders like to see high levels of local community support for places they fund.  Previously a smal fee was charged to join but now your group can join FREE.




Funding Opportunity Reminder From Caithness Voluntary Group
Beatrice Partnership Fund has reopened for the final time. The fund supports projects that are based in the East Coast of Caithness and Sutherland plus the following Community Council areas in Rosshire, Edderton, Tain, Inver and Tarbat.
The closing date for the fund is Wednesday 28th April 2021 at 12 noon. You can apply for funding from £10,000 - £50,000.
Exciting new development needs local support - please!
St Johns PoolSt Johns PoolSt Johns PoolSt Johns Pool
St John's Pool Bird Reserve near Dunnet is a unique visitor attraction in the north of Scotland. With over 200 bird species recorded since 1989, and the largest tern colony in Caithness, it is a spectacular summer experience for anyone interested in nature. But it needs your help to develop into an even more impressive haven for birds - and for people to enjoy. We just need to show the funding bodies that there is genuine community support. If you would like to see the SJP 2020 Project succeed (see below) - please write a letter or email to smith57ja@gmail.com by 31 January 2021, highlighting the reasons..more
Support For Taxi And Private Hire Drivers
Grants for taxi an dprivare hire operators
New fund to support taxi and private hire drivers affected by the pandemic will launch this week. Local authorities will directly approach an estimated 38,000 private hire and taxi drivers inviting them to claim a £1,500 grant to assist with fixed costs, boosting the support from other funding for loss of income available through the Scottish and UK Governments. A new total of £57 million has been allocated by the Scottish Government - three times more than the allocation announced in December. Councils will start contacting eligible drivers this week to brief them on their potential entitlement and ask them to provide supporting information and bank account details. They do not need to apply, or contact the local authority.

Inverness Castle - Update
Inverness Castle Update
Statutory applications lodged today with The Highland Council signal progress in the planned transformation for Inverness Castle to become a tourism gateway for the Highlands. The applications are for: Listed building consent Building warrant approval. The applications, submitted by project architects LDN Architects, are in preparation for the main building works contract. This contract will be subject to a tender process beginning in spring of 2021.
More architect pictures of how  the castle will look

Earlier Views of Inverness

Regulator Appoints Manager To Charity Wick Academy Development Fund As Part Of Decade-long Inquiry
The Scottish regulator has appointed a manager to take over a charity as part of a decade-long inquiry to ensure its trustees do not part with its property without consent. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator opened an inquiry into Wick Academy Development Fund in September 2010 after concerns were raised about its public benefit, and a failure to make use of its accumulated funds.
Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal And Conservation Area Management Plan
Many interesting photos and maps
Wick Pulteneytown Conservation AppraisalWick Pulteneytown AppraisalWick Pulteneytown Appraisal










On Thursday 21st January Caithness councillors will consider a report "Wick Pulteneytown Conservation Area Appraisal and Conservation Area Management Plan" and agree a public consultation that will lay out the potential for the area in coming years. The report has two highly detailed appendices. They both contain many photos and Appendix One also outlines the history of the conservation area and details many facts about individual buildings.

Caithness Horizons To Be Relaunched As The North Coast Visitor Centre
Caithness Horizons to relaunch as North Coast Visitor Centre
The Caithness Committee of Highland council will next week a paper covering the present position of the former Caithness Horizons that closed when it ran into financial difficulties. The facility closed in February 2019 having operated since 2008. The building is owned by the The Highland Council, and THC retains responsibility for the collections housed therein.

The HLH marketing team will ensure that the community are kept appraised of developments through social media and other channels as the facility prepares for relaunching as the North Coast Visitor Centre.   Caithnes A to Z
New UK Government Covid Testing Site Opens In Wick At Riverside
The UK Government has today, Thursday 7 January, opened a new walk-through coronavirus testing centre at Riverside Car Park in Wick (KW1 4EA). The centre is easily accessible for people without a car. The test centre is part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history. In Scotland, this comprises of six drive through sites, 23 walk-through sites, 23 mobile units, plus the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab which is working round the clock to process samples.
Scotland In Lockdown From Midnight Tonight - Stay Home
Mainland Scotland is to go into lockdown from midnight tonight with a new legal requirement forbidding anyone from leaving their home except for essential purposes.   More in Business Section

Coronavirus Covid-19 - Stay At Home Guidance
To minimise the risk of spreading the virus, you must stay at home as much as possible. By law, in a level 4 area, you can only leave your home (or garden) for an essential purpose.

Retired Surgeon Pradip Datta Publishes His Memoirs
Pradip Datta pubishes his memoirs in a book
The Naked Mountain Lands  - This is the unique story of an Indian surgeon, describing the challenges he faced, whilst achieving his life-long ambition of higher surgical qualifications in the UK. He worked as a Consultant General Surgeon in Wick in the Scottish Highlands, where he still lives. It was here that he established a postgraduate surgical course for which he was awarded the MBE. After retirement he was struck down by a stroke, details of which are described. He subsequently completed this book. The story of a consultant's life, peppered with anecdotes and interesting facts in medicine in the far north of Scotland.


Happy New Year To Everyone From Caithness.org