Work begins on community campus in Tain
Work has started on a £1.6m community hub in Tain in Easter Ross.The Gro For You Community Innovation Campus is expected to create 24 full-time jobs as well as apprenticeship roles when it opens in 2026.The site will offer space for training in food technologies and hospitality.It will also have facilities for visitors travelling the Highlands' North Coast 500 tourist route, including waste disposal for campervans and electric vehicle charging points.
The Scottish government, Social Investment Scotland, SSE Renewables and Glenmorangie distillery company are among organisations backing the project.Co-founder and chief executive Sarah MacKenzie said: "What this offers is a catalogue of community and economic benefits that will provide solutions to challenges Highland rural communities face."She said it was hoped the campus would provide opportunities for young people in terms of jobs and training.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
24 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Controversial Loch Lomond Flamingo Land plans recalled
In September 2024, the Yorkshire-based theme park operator, Flamingo Land Ltd, had their planning permission in principle rejected by all 14 board members of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Planning Authority. Now, plans for the development at Lomond Banks have been recalled by Scottish Ministers reports our sister title The National. Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee (below), said he has recalled the plans as the proposed development raises issues of 'national significance'. He said: 'I have decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. 'This means that the appeal should be determined at a national level.' The news comes after more than 50,000 people wrote to McKee in just two weeks, demanding that the Scottish Government withdraw its approval of the mega-resort planning application. Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer said the public's opinion on the proposal, which is the most opposed in Scottish planning history with more than 155,000 individuals lodging objections, 'couldn't be clearer'. He said: 'In just two weeks the Planning Minister has heard directly from over 50,000 people calling on him to block these proposals. Public opinion couldn't be clearer and it is backed up by experts including the Government's own environment watchdog.' Organisations such as the National Trust for Scotland, the Woodland Trust, the Ramblers, and the Scottish Government environment watchdog, SEPA, also raised objections against the plans.
Daily Record
31 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Lanarkshire MSP calls on Holyrood to make sure OAPs aren't left behind on winter fuel payments
More than 75 per cent of pensioners in England and Wales will be entitled to the new annual payment of up to £300 after the Labour government abandoned one of its first, and most controversial, policies. A Lanarkshire MSP has called on the Scottish Government to ensure local pensioners aren't left behind following the UK Government's u-turn on winter fuel payments. More than 75 per cent of pensioners in England and Wales will be entitled to the new annual payment of up to £300 after the Labour government abandoned one of its first, and most controversial, policies. Scotland has already created a devolved benefit of £100 for all pensioner households, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands of Scots worse off than their counterparts south of the border. Central Scotland list Labour MSP Monica Lennon said 'This is welcome news that will bring even more money to people in Lanarkshire – on top of the record funding settlement Labour delivered for Scotland in the budget. 'While the last Tory government left our public finances in chaos, Labour has made good progress cleaning up the mess it inherited. 'The Winer Fuel Payment is a devolved payment in Scotland and Scottish Labour has been clear that we want to see it reinstated for the majority of pensioners here – but despite their loud spin, the SNP voted against our attempts to do so. 'That's why we are urging the SNP not go ahead with plans that would unfairly hit poorer pensioners. 'The SNP must re-examine their own proposals in light of this game-changing announcement, ensure payments reach those most in need, and give a cast-iron guarantee that no struggling Scottish pensioners will be left out of pocket under their plans.' Last July, Chancellor Reeves drew widespread criticism over cuts to the winter fuel payment - a lump sum of £200 a year for households with a pensioner under 80, or £300 for households with a pensioner over 80 - in a bid to save an estimated £1.4 billion. In response, the Scottish Government introduced a new scheme offering those in receipt of qualifying benefits like Pension Credit £200 or £300 depending on their age, and £100 for all other pensioner households. However, while the benefit for pensioners above the income threshold will be clawed back through tax, richer pensioners in Scotland will be able to keep the payment. Following the latest announcement from Westminster, Scottish pensioners who do not get pension credit but whose income is below that £35,000 threshold are expected to receive £100 less than if they lived in England or Wales. Shirley-Anne Somerville said Scotland introduced a winter heating payment for all pensioners because of the UK government's 'betrayal of millions of pensioners'. She said the Scottish Government welcomed the U-turn, but 'there is still no detail about how the Chancellor intends to go about that'. The social justice secretary said: 'We have once again not been consulted on the policy and its implications in Scotland and will scrutinise the proposals carefully when they are announced. 'I would therefore urge the UK Government to ensure the Scottish government is fully appraised of the proposed changes as soon as possible.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Labour's nuclear bet: big promises, but bigger questions remain unanswered
The government's decision to invest £14.2bn in nuclear energy, on top of existing funds, marks a return to significant state funding of nuclear power after Hinkley Point C, financed by the private sector, was dogged by delays and cost overruns. It is also a decisive shift in energy policy. Ministers have high hopes of a nuclear energy renaissance. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, described the prospect of a new reactor in Suffolk, Sizewell C, combined with new money for modular reactor development and fusion research, as a 'golden age'. This was a striking choice of words from the greenest voice in the cabinet. The Climate Change Committee's latest advice to the government took a more restrained view of nuclear, which drew industry ire. Mr Miliband's commitment to renewable energy is not in doubt. The government has made good progress on wind and solar – although the cancellation of an offshore wind project was a step backwards. Nuclear is meant to complement support for renewables and speed up the transition away from gas. That, at least, is the theory, and Labour's bet reflects a broader shift across Europe. The other part of the calculation made by ministers including Rachel Reeves – whose department made the announcement – is jobs. Sizewell C is expected to employ 10,000 people, including 1,500 apprentices. Rolls-Royce SMR has beaten off competition to become the first business in the UK to try to build reactors out of factory-made modules. While this technology remains unproven, the UK has a stronger track record of this kind of manufacture than it does on big, site-specific infrastructure. With this vote of confidence in British business, Labour hopes to gain its own boost from voters, and take on climate sceptics at the same time. But one need not be anti-nuclear to see that big questions remain unresolved. Cost is the most obvious one, with nuclear energy far more expensive than wind – although the price of the latter is rising. Somerset's Hinkley Point C could cost double the original projected price. Ministers seem convinced that things will be better in future, but it is hard to see why. Waste and safety are the other two perennial problems with nuclear that are often downplayed. Currently, much of the UK's existing nuclear waste is stored at Sellafield in Cumbria. But safety risks have been raised about this site, which is not a permanent solution. Another issue is the relationship with defence and the way that investment in civil nuclear schemes can provide a hidden subsidy to the military. A further question is the role of tech companies. The initial decision to invest in small modular reactors (SMRs) appeared to coincide with efforts to court AI businesses. Datacentres' seemingly unlimited appetite for power has also spurred Donald Trump to throw his weight behind new nuclear. In a climate emergency, there is a case for nuclear energy as part of a decarbonised energy system. But nuclear alone won't deliver net zero; it must be part of a wider, coherent strategy that includes energy efficiency and renewables. Ministers must, for example, have stricter green building rules to get to net zero. The Tories' lax approach to regulation, despite their commitment to a legally binding climate target, was shameful. What is clear is that ministers need to explain this week's decisions in more detail than they have so far.
