News
Red John Newsletter
This is a Newsletter sent to us by ILI to keep us informed of updates and as we receive them I will publish them here to keep the Community updated.
Covid Resilience Briefing Update
Covid Update
Over the last 7 days there have been 388 new positive cases in Highland (to 22 July), a decrease from last week when 477 were reported. This means the latest rate per 100,000 has decreased from 202.3 per 100,000 last week to 164.8 per 100,000 as of 20 July. Whilst there has been a decrease, the numbers of cases still remain high and it is important to be careful and stick to the Scottish Government guidelines.
Asymptomatic Testing
As cases rise, it is important to test yourself even if you don’t have symptoms. Taking a rapid LFD test twice a week can help stop new variants earlier, limiting the spread of the virus.
Test kits are available at pharmacies, or to order online from www.nhsinform.scot/testing, or by calling 119.
Test kits are also available at Community testing sites. The details for where these are next week is outlined below.
Symptomatic Testing
If you do believe you have symptoms, please self-isolate and book a PCR test.
Postal PCR kits are available through NHS Inform either online here or by calling 0800 028 2816.
In addition to the local support that is available, people can get support to self isolate by calling the Council’s helpline number: 0300 303 1362. This can include access to food and supplies to self isolate and individuals may be entitled to a £500 self isolation support grant.
Community Testing 26 July – 30 July
The community testing programme offers rapid COVID-19 tests for people without symptoms.
Next week the mobile testing unit Testalot will be at:
Middle Street Car Park, Middle Street, Fort William PH33 6EU
Monday 26 July 12noon-4:30pm
Tuesday 27 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Wednesday 28 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Thursday 29 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Friday 30 July 9:30am-2pm
The mobile testing unit Moves Like Jagger will be available at:
Fairways Car Park, Slackbuie, Inverness IV2 6AA
Monday 26 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Tuesday 27 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Wednesday 28 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Thursday 29 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Friday 30 July 9:30am-4:30pm
Just to emphasise that there is no specific outbreak in this communities this is to support normalising testing across the area.
No appointment is necessary, and it will be open both for asymptomatic testing and to collect LFD test kits.
Please note that these drop-in sessions for community testing are only for people without symptoms. Anyone that becomes unwell should isolate immediately and seek a PCR test. PCR tests can be booked through NHS Inform online or by calling 0800 028 2816.
Dores Fish Farm Response from Local Councillors.
From Cllrs Davidson and Fraser
MOWI have moved their fish cages and they are now in the wrong place. MOWI do not have planning permission for the current site and they have agreed to move it, but not committed to a timescale.
The original location of the fish cages will interfere with the tailrace of the proposed hydro-electric scheme and permission had been granted for a revised position. However, they can’t currently move it to their revised agreed position as the water is too shallow. MOWI are unwilling to return the cages to the previous site saying it will interfere with the Hydro tailrace construction. We do not consider this argument to be valid.
It seems unlikely that Red John will be operating for some years to come and hence they could use the original site and take time to explore and agree suitable sites. Therefore Planning Services may just put a enforcement order in place and MOWI would have to move back.
Road Closure B862 from Holm Mains Roundabout to Torbreck Junction
Update 16/07/21
GCU/Cityfibre are reviewing their works requirement for the B862 but have, in the meantime, suspended the work planned for next week. They may decide that the work is still required but at least it won’t now happen during the busy tourist season. GCU/cityfibre are to issue a formal response to the CCs.
They are, however, looking to progress works along the Southern Distributor Road and some disruption is likely. We are currently discussing options with them with the view to reducing disruption. They will keep us and the other CCs up to speed.
Update 15/07/21
following an online meeting with the main contractor the following report by John Martin who attended
“No official confirmation, but it seems like the work will now be carried
out overnight.
However, questions remain over what daytime arrangement will remain in
place.”
Update 12/07/21
We have had some information from the contractor doing the work the attached plans are quite hard to read so Im hoping a member of the CC is able meet with them this week to clarify
No doubt many have seen the signs up announcing the road closure from the roundabout to the junction with Torbreck.
We had contacted the HC to see if it was anything they had planned as there was no notification but it wasn’t anything to do with them.
It turns out it is the city fibre broadband connection to the Torbreck Road that is being installed.
It is being delayed a week to allow for notification to go out to the surrounding communities
I will copy the reply from the HC below and update with more detail from City Fibre as and when I get it.
Dear All
We have spent a good part of today trying to resolve this matter with Cityfibre and others. We recently met with them on site and both they, and the council, are under pressure to help facilitate the completion of the Public Service Network (PSN). The SDR forms a key link, plus they also require access to the B862.
It was our understanding that they were to programme their works in a manner where they would work from east to west, from Inshes Retail Park roundabout to Holm roundabout. We agreed that the work should be carried out during the school holiday period, and completion was to have been by the end of the week prior to the schools returning. We were therefore surprised to see the advance warning signage, as it was not what we were expecting.
We asked Cityfibe to delay by a week in order to allow more time for notifications to be carried out, and I’m pleased to report that we have reached agreement on this. As a result there will be no single lane closure of the B862 (Holm Roundabout to Torbreck) next week.
Regards
Alistair MacLeod: IEng FIHE,
Principal Technician,
Highland Council,
Infrastructure and Environment,
94 Diriebught Road,
Inverness,
IV2 3QN,
Local Government Boundary Review
The Community Council replied to a consultation to the Local Government Boundary Commission where our current area and representation would change. We asked that the area be kept the same as at the moment we are included with all the Loch Ness Communities and the new proposal would see us as part of the city .Highland Councillors made the same comments but the Boundaries Commission haven’t taken this on board for no other reason than making numbers fit areas.
We have sent a letter to all the MSP’s who represent our area asking them to make representation in the Parliament.
I copied the letter below and will update once I get replies
Letter to be sent by email to regional MSP’s as follows:
Kate Forbes
Donald Cameron
Rhoda Grant
Jamie Halcro Johnston
Edward Mountain
Emma Roddick
Douglas Ross
3rd July 2021
Dear Sir/ Madam
Review of Electoral Arrangements The Highland Council Area
Final Proposals (Report Number E21003)
We are writing to you in connection with the above report published in June 2021 by
Boundaries Scotland and which we understand is shortly to be considered by
Scottish Ministers.
The area served by Dores and Essich Community Council sits within the Aird and
Loch Ness Ward of Highland Council (Ward 12) and is one of the areas proposed to
be changed as part of the Review. The proposal which affects us is the formation
of a new ward ‘Inverness South West’ (Ward 15).
Our Community Council reviewed the draft report and responded online via the
consultation portal with the following comments:
The concept of regulating electoral parity is acknowledged but regard needs
to be given to the the nature of the area being served: Councillors in rural
areas will have to deal with different logistical issues (remoteness, distance,
weather influence) to those in urban/ semi-urban areas. Mixing urban and
rural areas may assist with optimising electoral parity from a statistical
perspective but, in practice, may result in rural areas being under-
represented compared to the current position.
Dores and Essich Community does not support the proposed division of the
current Aird and Loch Ness ward along a seemingly arbitrary line on the
centre of Loch Ness. There is currently synergy of demographics, issues and
interests on each side of the Loch and (other than balancing out the electoral
numbers) there appears to be no logic to splitting the ward in this way. The
proposal to include the current Ness-side ward with our area to form the
proposed new Ward 15 is a matter for concern, in that the interests of urban
Inverness and our rural/ semi rural area are unlikely to be aligned and the
‘pull’ of population numbers on councillors’ time is likely to work to our
disadvantage. Our Community Council area already includes part of the
Ness-side ward and, in our experience, attendance at our Community
Council meetings and involvement in its business by elected representatives
for the Ness-side ward has been minimal. In summary, we would prefer the
status quo to prevail.
In its report to Scottish Ministers (at p.36) Boundaries Scotland made the following
comment:
- In Aird and Loch Ness, while a number of respondents preferred the
status quo there were no compelling arguments that persuaded us that we
should revert to the existing boundaries with the consequential impacts for
ward design in other parts of the council area.
We know that our Community Council was not alone in expressing its disapproval
of the proposed changes and it is telling to see that, despite the representations
made, the justification for proceeding with them is to avoid ‘consequential impacts
on ward design’ elsewhere. We have to say that, for us, this is not a ‘numbers
game’ but is about ensuring that something that works well is not discarded. Other
respondents have expressed eloquently the success with which the current
arrangements work for representation of the communities around Loch Ness and so
we would urge you to reject this particular change and instead maintain the status
quo.
Yours faithfully
Dores and Essich Community Council