Latest news with #Inverness
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
£1.5m Inverness community hub to be complete by end of year
A £1.5m project to regenerate a disused playing field in Inverness should be complete by the end of the year. Inverness Caledonian Thistle's Community Development Trust is behind the project which will provide a major community hub for football and athletics. A number of pitches, changing rooms, a classroom and offices are planned for the 10-acre (4ha) site at Inverness Royal trust said it would provide a "much-needed" facility for various groups, including school pupils and Inverness Caley Thistle's women's team. A 25-year lease from Highland Council has been secured, with five jobs to be Masterton, the trust's community development manager, said he was delighted to have reached the funding target to progress the added: "We are hoping to have the facility up and running by the end of this year, providing our community with a much-needed grassed area for activity."The SFA, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council and Sportscotland are among those providing funding.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
SNP's Fergus Ewing to run as an independent in Scottish elections
SNP veteran Fergus Ewing has announced that he will stand as an independent in next year's Scottish Parliament has represented Inverness and Nairn since 1999, and previously served as rural affairs secretary in March, he confirmed he would not stand for the SNP in 2026 and said the party needed to change as it was "no longer the party for all of Scotland".He has been increasingly at odds with the SNP over its slow progress in dualling the A9 and A96 roads. The MSP has also raised issues with the deposit return scheme, gender recognition reform, marine protected areas and what he perceived as a lack of support for the oil and gas defied party whips to vote against then Green minister Lorna Slater in a motion of no confidence in 2023 - with this resulting in him being temporarily suspended from the SNP group at Holyrood. 'Fractious and tribal' Ewing said he had seen the Scottish Parliament at its best and worst during his time at Holyrood and he believed he had seen it at its worst in recent years."This has not been an easy decision," he said. "I have taken it because I love the people of Inverness and Nairn and the people of Scotland more than my party, which I have been in for more than half a century."But Ewing said the party had "deserted many of the people whose causes we used to champion".He added: "I believe the SNP has lost its way and that devolution itself – presently - is letting Scotland's people down. It doesn't need to be this way."Holyrood is more fractious and tribal than ever before."Too much power rests unchecked in the hands of party leaders, free to choose candidates who will slavishly support them, rather than stand up for the people who sent them to Holyrood. Choosing the pliant over the talented." He urged politicians in the main parties to work together "whether in a grand coalition or a less formal arrangement" to reform public services and maximise economic first hinted to BBC Scotland in March that he could stand as an independent in the 2026 the time, SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney said that he was sorry to learn of Ewing's decision, describing him as a "faithful servant" of his constituents who had contributed much to the Scottish added: "I said I would be the first minister for all of Scotland and that is what I will do."Fergus Ewing is the son of Winnie Ewing, whose 1967 by-election victory in Hamilton was a historic breakthrough for the SNP. He is also the brother of Cowdenbeath MSP Annabelle was first elected to the Scottish Parliament when it was re-established in 1999 and held a ministerial portfolio for 14 years in the governments of both Alex Salmond and Nicola added: "It's time for Holyrood to live up to the high expectations people rightly held for it, when my mother, Winnie, reconvened our own Parliament in 1999."It came of age some years ago - surely now it's time for it to grow up."
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Sauna plan for Loch Ness pub owned by Scotland's richest man
A sauna, shop and beach café have been proposed for a pub and restaurant taken over by a company owned by Scotland's richest billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen's WildLand purchased the Dores Inn on Loch Ness last property in the village of Dores, about 10 miles (16km) south of Inverness, is currently plans outlined to Highland Council, WildLand has also proposed renovating and expanding the inn, revamping its car park and public toilets. Mr Holch Povlsen made his fortune in retail and is worth almost £8bn, according to the latest The Sunday Times Rich List. WildLand, a conservation and hospitality business, already owns the nearby 300-year-old Aldourie Castle and 500 acres of grounds and Category A-listed castle was among 11 buildings named as winners of the annual Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) awards last said in October the Dores Inn would be closed for about 24 months for restoration work and should reopen in company is holding public exhibitions on its plans at the inn on 27 and 28 executive Tim Kirkwood said: "The Dores Inn sits at the heart of a much-loved community setting. "As we explore options for its restoration and long-term operation, we're committed to involving the community from the outset." A full planning application is expected to be submitted with Highland Council before the end of the Turner, head of region at WildLand Loch Ness, said: "The Dores Inn has always been more than a pub - it's a gathering place, a gateway to the loch, and an important part of local life. "We want to restore that role and build on it, creating something that works year-round for the area."The Dores Inn pub and restaurant is a landmark on the southern shore of Loch was visited by Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Phillip in the years, owners of the Dores Inn have included local community stalwart Ella Macrae.
BBC News
a day ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Fully dualled A96 'remains favoured Scottish government position'
Making the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness fully dual carriageway remains the Scottish government's "current favoured position".Transport Scotland has published a new report summarising public feedback from a consultation on options aimed at improving the has been passed to Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop, who said the preferred option had not changed from full dualling. Last year, a 2011 commitment to upgrade 86 miles (138km) of the route by 2030 was abandoned by the Scottish government. The A96 passes through large areas of farmland, and the route includes the towns of Nairn, Elgin and has long stretches of single carriageway and some shorter dualled road and crawler lanes. Ms Hyslop will now consider the feedback and assessment work, before the Scottish government makes a final decision on how to progress."The position of the Scottish government has not changed," she said."The current favoured position is to fully dual the A96 and we are already starting the dualling process from Inverness to Nairn, including a Nairn bypass, having acquired the land for the scheme earlier this year." How many responded to the A96 consultation? She said it was a sign of the public interest that more than 1,400 responses to the consultation were received."It was important that local people, businesses and communities were given the opportunity to help inform the government's final decision on how to take forward improvements to the A96 corridor," Ms Hyslop 12-week consultation took place from November to than 60% of respondents expressed support for the current commitment to fully dual the A96.
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Cloud factory' timber plant near Inverness to get own rail yard
Plans for a new rail yard next to an industrial site on the outskirts of Inverness have been approved by Highland aim of the development is to reduce the number of HGVs travelling on the roads to deliver timber to the Norbord plant, known locally as the "cloud factory" because of steam that rises from a large West Fraser Europe Ltd plan to build new rail sidings, about 560m (1,837ft) in length, that would be connected to the Inverness to Aberdeen first trains are expected to arrive at the site by next year but the full expansion would not be completed until 2028. West Fraser Europe Ltd said the plan would help give the wood panel manufacturing plant a sustainable future. It is anticipated about 20,000 HGV movements would be removed from the road network in favour of transportation by emission reductions are predicted to be in the region of 9,000 by local democracy reporter Will Angus.
