£75k drugs siezed on northbound A9

DRUGS worth £75,000 were discovered in a car travelling towards Inverness today (30 June).
The vehicle was stopped by police on the northbound A9 at Aviemore, and a 34-year-old man was arrested and will appear in court tomorrow (1 July).
A police spokesman said: “Anyone engaged in the supply or trafficking of illegal substances and or stolen [...]

£2.5 expansion starts at Nairn Academy

A £2.5m extension at Nairn Academy will house 11 state-of-the-art labs, a library and staff rooms.
Work started today (30 June) when head teacher Highland Council Convener Sandy Park to cut the first turf in the development.
The council is delivering the accommodation through an off-site modular design and build contract. Forty modules are being constructed at [...]

Arlene murder cop retires

Grampian Police Assistant Chief Constable Jim Stephen, who led the high-profile investigation into the murder of Arlene Fraser, is retiring after 34 years.
Press and Journal

Dogs ‘boiled alive’ in Inverness cars

Four dogs were ‘boiled alive’ after being caged inside burning hot cars. Two dogs died together in the same car in Inverness as temperature soared. A third dog in the city and another in Tain also died, the SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) said.
BBC

Concert tribute to cancer victim

A school in Badenoch paid tribute to a former pupil who died aged 33 from cancer.
Martyn Bennet was described as one of Scotland’s most talented musicians for his experimental pieces, and Kingussie High School held a concert for the year of Homecoming in his honour.
Press and Journal

Most Grampian fires deliberately started

Grampian Fire and Rescue Service have revealed that 56% of all fires in its area over the past four years were started deliberately.
Press and Journal

Moray drugs bust – £150k drugs siezed and 11 held

Drugs with a street value of more than £150,000 have been seized by police during a series of raids on the homes of suspected dealers in Moray. Eleven people were arrested after officers found heroin, methadone, cannabis and equipment used to grow cannabis.
Press and Journal

Hydro project will bring hundreds of jobs

Plans announced yesterday for two multimillion-pound hydro-electric schemes in the Highlands are expected to give the north economy a “massive” boost and create hundreds of jobs.
Press and Journal

Phoenix Bar makes literary ‘history’

A traditional Inverness pub has been featured in a book of traditional watering holes.
The Phoenix bar in Academy Street is among several in Scotland to be featured by the book, published by Historic Scotland and CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.
Press and Journal

‘Oldest Scot’ dies in north-east at 108

A woman thought to be the oldest person in Scotland has died at the age of 108. Elizabeth Cockburn saw six generations of her family grow up passed away in Aberdeenshire on Sunday. For 78 years, she had lived in a remote croft with no electricity or running water near Turriff, but moved to a [...]

Children sing to mark Streetscape completion

Inverness provost Jimmy Gray uncovered the last stone in the £6m Streetscape project, which has transformed city centre streets
To mark completion of the scheme, pupils from Cauldeen Primary School, who helped design some of the street artworks, sang for guests at the opening outside the Town House.
The new streetscape incorporates Caithness flag stones, granite setts, [...]

Schools closed, jobs cut and charges for council services?

Schools could be closed or merged, hundreds of jobs will go and charges for council-run services will rise as Highland Council tries to make savings of £100million over the next four years.
Press and Journal

More hydro power for Highlands

Two new hydro power schemes could follow the project recently completed at Glendo, Fort Augustus.
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is proposing to develop two new large scale pumped storage hydro electric schemes in the Great Glen.
It will seek a formal opinion on the scope of the environmental impact statement that would accompany planning applications for [...]

Springfield scoops trio of awards in Forres, Buckie and Alness

An Elgin property developer has won a hat trick of awards for building projects in the Highlands and Moray.
At the Scottish Homes Awards, held in Edinburgh on June 26. Springfield Properties scooped the titles for Conversion of the Year, House of the Year and Apartment of the Year.
It was a major coup for the company [...]

Green light for 94 homes in Forres

Springfield 94 private home boost for Forres

SPRINGFIELD Properties have been given the go-ahead for 94 private homes on the south-west fringe of Forres.

Although subject to final agreement on road considerations the Elgin-based home-builder expects to be on site by January next year.

A spokesman for Springfield said a Scottish Government Reporter issued a statement on Friday of last week stating that he intended to grant planning consent subject to a legal agreement between the developers and Moray Council. This is expected to take no longer than three months.

The development site on the west side of the A940 Forres to Grantown road lies immediately south of the existing Knockomie Rise housing development and fields north of the Knockomie Hotel.

The site is designated as housing site R2 in the new 2008 Moray Council local plan.

Queen first British monarch to step on Culloden battlefield

The Queen was the first British monarch to set foot on Culloden Battlefield when she visited today (29 June). She is also visiting the Glendoe Hydro Electric facility near Fort Augustus where she will declare the project open.
BBC

The great Inverness raft and duck race

The annual River Ness Raft Race is one of Inverness City’s most colourful events. Teams of four are invited to build their own rafts and race them down the River Ness.
The races are divided into two categories: commercial and club. All entrants are encouraged to decorate their rafts and there is a prize for the [...]

‘Buncefield’ fears for Highlands

Oil depots in the Highlands do not’ fully comply’ with safety measures drawn up after the 2005 Buncefield explosion, SEPA has revealed.
BBC

Brewster will only play in ‘emergencies’

New number two at Ross County, Craig Brewster, said he will play only “in emergencies” next season after after promotion to assist manager Derek Adams.
Scotsman

Police and medics ready for swine flu

Police and medical chiefs are confident they can meet a local outbreak of swine flu.
That was the message at a meeting of the Highlands and Islands Strategic Co-ordinating Group, (HISCG), which met on Friday (26 June), in Inverness.
The HISCG agencies are working together to plan and prepare for any impact of Influenza A, (H1N1), and [...]

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