Dores and Essich Community

News

Community Resilience Briefing 22-05-23

by

Dear Community Resilience Group/Community Council/Colleagues,

Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing for groups with an interest in local community resilience. 

Covid, Colds, and Flu related information 

Funding  

SCVO  is a key source of funding information for the third sector. Funds that may be of interest include:

Considers proposals in the field of autistic spectrum disorder, with preference for projects including people with ASD in the decision-making. They will also consider proposals in the field of disability, violence, and access to justice. Applications can be submitted at any time.

  • The Pixel FundProvides grants to charities with a focus on mental health and well-being of children and young adults. Currently open for initial enquiries.
  • Barcapel Foundation LimitedProvides financial assistance to registered charities involved in the areas of Health, Heritage, or youth. Board meets twice a year, and the next deadline is for the November meeting.

Regeneration Capital Grant Funding (RCGF) Round 11
The latest round of Regeneration Capital Grant Funding (RCGF) has just been announced and we are now accepting applications to this fund.  We have now updated the web pages so that the new application form and guidance notes are available as a download.  If anyone has any questions, they can get in touch via the Community Regeneration Team mailbox:  [email protected]

The Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) has been delivered in partnership between the Scottish Government and COSLA since 2014.

The RCGF supports locally developed, place-based regeneration projects that involve local communities, helping to tackle inequalities and deliver inclusive growth in deprived, disadvantaged, and fragile remote communities across Scotland.

Round 11 of the RCGF fund is currently open for Stage 1 applications and the deadline for submission is no later than 9am on Monday 12 June 2023.

Applicants can bid for grants from an available £25 million in 2024 to 2025 as part of a two-stage application process.

For more information/ application form and guidance notes, please see:

https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/20014/economic_development/844/regeneration

Welfare, poverty reduction and resilience

  • Port of Nigg Open Day – On 24th June the Port of Nigg is hosting an open day to experience one of Scotland’s leading energy ports. This is an opportunity to connect with the people who work at the port as well as local communities. The event is free, but tickets are required due to expected high demand, please see the attached document for more information.
  • CyberScotland May Bulletin – Highlights include the new NCSC Threat Report, information on the latest email scams such as the “storage full” email scam, and a cyber security breaches survey which will be used to inform government policy.
  • Cost of living support – Highland Council webpages on support and information to help with the cost of living.
  • Help during the cost-of-living crisis – Scottish Government advice and information.
  • Energy Advice – Inverness Badenoch and Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau offer free, impartial energy advice to householders. We provide advice to help reduce household energy use, save money and understand energy bills and support householders to manage energy debt. This can be done in person, over the phone or by video call. We can be contacted on 01463 219742 or email [email protected]

Mental Health and Wellbeing

  • NHS Highland Mental Wellbeing – a collection of resources and signposts to help people of all ages to look after their own mental wellbeing. Register for the event by following the link.
  • Cost of living crisis and your mental health
    Many people are feeling the strain as the cost of living continues to increase.  This resource provides information on how you can maintain your mental wellbeing at this time, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise.

Emergency Planning 

Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst

Community Support and Engagement

Highland Council

Dores Hall News

by

Village Hall Update

Ongoing Events:

Craft Night – all are welcome. £5 per person for hall/heating/electric. Contact Heidi if interested. 

  • Every second Tuesday from 7 – 9pm. Next meetup is Tuesday, 23rd May. 

Meg’s Gentle Beginners Yoga – for details contact [email protected] Movement.co.uk or phone 07712579599

  • Every Wednesday evening at 7:30pm

Upcoming Events:

July – Soup and Pudding Lunch – being planned for July. Details to come.

September – Curry Night – another evening of curry and company being planned for September.

November – Renowned jazz duo Brian Molley on saxophone and Tom Gibbs on piano will be performing at the hall. Not to be missed – cheese wine stall, tickets £12, details to follow.

Other Items:

Emergency First Aid – Anyone interested in Emergency First Aid contact Heidi. If there’s enough interest, we’ll boook Lucky 2 Be Here.

Hall Bookings – Anyone interested in booking the hall, contact Heidi at [email protected] or email [email protected].

Royal Mail Service Changes

by

We have received a request for feedback on proposed changes to the Royal Mail deliveries.

If you have any feedback please send to this email address [email protected]

Hi folks

The Economy and Fair Work Committee want to know what you think about proposed Royal Mail service changes, and the impact of recent strikes. The Committee is interested in hearing from businesses and communities, particularly rural communities. We have invited Royal Mail to give evidence before the end of June. Your views will inform that session, and the questions we ask.

Key questions

  1. How important is the current six-day Royal Mail service for letters to your business and/or your community?
  2. Royal Mail has proposed changing the six-day service for letters to a five-day service. Delivery of letters on Saturdays would end. If this change is made, what impact would this have on your business or community?
  3. Are there any businesses, individuals or groups who would be particularly affected by this change?
  4. What was your experience of the service provided by the Royal Mail over the last year while the dispute with the CWU (Communication Workers Union) was ongoing?
  5. If you are a business, have you stopped using Royal Mail? Do you use Royal Mail in conjunction with other services? What are your reasons?

In order to determine whether a response is worthwhile issuing, can you advise of any issues, from a business perspective and/or from a community, particularly rural aspect of Royal Mail ceasing provision of mail deliveries on a Saturday ?

Many thanks

Gordon

Resilience Briefing 05-05-23

by

Dear Community Resilience Group/Community Council/Colleagues,

Welcome to The Highland Council’s fortnightly briefing for groups with an interest in local community resilience. 

Covid, Colds, and Flu related information 

Funding  

SCVO  is a key source of funding information for the third sector. Funds that may be of interest include:

  • Hie Green Grant Fund
    Supports businesses in tourism, creative industries, food and drink processing sectors, and social enterprises reduce or green their energy usage. Next deadline 14 July 2023
  • Youth Arts Open Fund
    Supports artists or organisations deliver arts activities for children and young people. Next deadline 5 June 2023.
  • Rewilding Britain – Rewilding Innovation FundAims to remove barriers to rewilding projects, whether they’re at the early planning stages or want to move a project one step wilder. Next deadline 31 May 2023

Welfare, poverty reduction and resilience

  • Youth Convener – Please see attached advert and contract specification for more information. This important role is responsible for representing the views of young people and understanding issues facing them. Closing date for applications is Thursday 11th May 2023.
  • New Community Council Cost of Living Hub Launched – This resource, available here, compiles a list of national resources and local organisations which can provide help and support.
  • Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival – This annual event is organised in partnership with local artists and groups. The next festival will take place October 2023 and they are looking for more community groups to get involved across the Highlands. Please see the attachment for further information.
  • Highland Cares Community Learning & Development – see the attached document for more information on learning opportunities for free accredited qualifications for personal and professional development.
  • Water Scarcity Report 2023 – This report shows that parts of western, central, and northern Scotland have reached early warning levels for water scarcity. Businesses are advised to check SEPA’s website to be aware of the water situation for local areas and for advice and guidance.
  • Cyber Byte – Attached is a message containing information about erasing information from devices before selling/recycling/giving away electronics to help prevent cyber-crimes.
  • SSEN Keeping Safe – Contains advice on keeping safe when outdoors, including advice for farmers working near overhead power lines.
  • Cost of living support – Highland Council webpages on support and information to help with the cost of living.
  • Help during the cost-of-living crisis – Scottish Government advice and information.
  • Energy Advice – Inverness Badenoch and Strathspey Citizens Advice Bureau offer free, impartial energy advice to householders. We provide advice to help reduce household energy use, save money and understand energy bills and support householders to manage energy debt. This can be done in person, over the phone or by video call. We can be contacted on 01463 219742 or email [email protected]

Mental Health and Wellbeing

  • NHS Highland Mental Wellbeing – a collection of resources and signposts to help people of all ages to look after their own mental wellbeing. Register for the event by following the link.
  • Cost of living crisis and your mental health
    Many people are feeling the strain as the cost of living continues to increase.  This resource provides information on how you can maintain your mental wellbeing at this time, alongside information on how to manage your money as bills rise.

Emergency Planning 

Douglas Crawford
Business Analyst

Community Support and Engagement

Highland Council

Police Report

by

We are going to be sent reports like below on a regular basis after the CC and other CC’s in the area asked about Policing in the area. I have raised the issue of speeding again at the school as whilst waiting there, the number of vehicles ignoring the 20mph flashing sign is mind boggling. A lot are local vehicles , trades vehicles even Highland Council vehicles so I have asked that they attend with the speed gun to act as a deterrent and reminder to drivers that the signs are there for a reason and only adds a few seconds on to journey.

West-Rural-newsletter-April-23.docxDownload

Worrying about money app

by

Dear Community Councils

Please see the attached information.  The Worrying about Money app was launched on the 8th February 2023. The app aim is to provide financial support to people who may be struggling with money worries.

The attached document has QR codes to enable you to download the app. 

There are also app cards available to order through HIRS http://healthyhighlanders.co.uk/HPAC

Anyone can register for an account and have them delivered to their nearest NHS site.

A promotional poster which will also be available to order through HIRS(Health Improvement Resource Service) so hopefully that will help to spread the word.  Please feel free to share this amongst your networks.

Many Thanks

Lynn McNeil

Community Support Co-Ordinator

Inverness Town House

High Street

Inverness

IV1 1JJ