Latest news with #D&ECoaches
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Council tax rise of 7% proposed for Highland
Highland Council has proposed raising council tax by 7%.Annual bills for an average band D property would be £1,527.09 if the increase is approved by councillors at a meeting on 6 local authority said 2% of all council tax raised would be invested in schools and improving Bill Lobban said the council was proposing a three-year budget plan that would lead to financial security for the authority. Council tax levels were frozen last its plan, Highland Council said it would spend £2m to fund an increase in numbers of has also proposed creating a £6m fund to expand its bus this month, the local authority completed a deal to take over an Inverness-based company that provides a significant number of its school local authority said buying D&E Coaches would reduce its school transport costs, and also help in its efforts to improve local bus council spends about £25m a year on school and public transport included in Highland's budget plan is a £500,000 fund to support community-based recycling schemes. Council leader Raymond Bremner said the proposed investment programme would create jobs and economic prosperity across the Lobban added: "These budget proposals underline our steadfast journey towards our objective of financial sustainability. "They would also ensure Highland Council will not require to use reserves to balance its budget and therefore is taking a major step on its pathway to financial security, which will be of great reassurance to our 10,000 employees."
BBC News
04-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Highland Council takes over Inverness bus firm D&E Coaches
Highland Council has completed a deal to take over an Inverness-based company that provides a significant number of its school local authority said buying D&E Coaches would reduce its school transport costs, and also help in its efforts to improve local bus council spends about £25m a year on school and public transport and wife Donald and Elizabeth Mathieson set up D&E Coaches almost 30 years ago and it has a fleet of 60 vehicles. Highland Council said the cost of the deal was commercially confidential. Highland Council said it intended to run the company on a "business as usual" local authority's in-house bus team already operates 16 public service include a new "shopper service" linking a number of Inverness housing developments with retail costs around contracts for public transport led Highland Council to set up its own bus team. D&E Coaches started in 1996 with just one mini director Mr Mathieson said: "We feel as a family firm that that we have taken the company as far as we can. "Moving forward, we feel that the acquisition of D&E Coaches by Highland Council is the best move for the company and everyone concerned, including our staff and customers. "We are also pleased that the company will move into local authority/public ownership."D&E Coaches contracts have included bussing pupils from more than 200 schools to Inverness for Eden Court's pantomime around Christmas 2023, the company became the official transport service for the Belladrum Tartan Heart music festival near Beauly.
