The 2011 traditional music awards
Fort William dignitaries are looking forward to extending a warm Highland welcome on December 7-8 to everyone coming to the 10th 2012 MG ALBA Traditional Music Awards in Fort William.
This year the event is run over two days with the entries into the Hall of Fame taking place . . . → Read More: Fort William ready to give warm welcome to Trad Music Awards
A BMW car stolen from the drive way of a Lochaber councillor has been found thanks to the joint working of the business community, social networks and good old fashioned police detective work.
Councillor Allan Henderson, who owns a bed and breakfast on Achintore Road in Fort William, turned away a man at the door . . . → Read More: Councillor’s BMW stolen from driveway
plans to charge for garden waste to be uplifted could help generate more than half a million pounds, according to the Highland Council.
From July, anyone wishing to have their brown bin emptied will have to pay a £30 annual fee to the council.
A council spokesman confirmed that the new ‘commercial approach’ to garden waste was decided unanimously by councillors at a meeting on February 16 and says the scheme could generate an estimated £660,000 which would help meet the council’s £20 million funding gap and save jobs.
Allan Henderson, chairman of the community services committee, explained: ‘Savings made by charging for brown bins helps to sustain around 25 to 30 jobs and protect services. The alternative option was to stop the brown bin collection service altogether or make cuts to other services.
‘When we have consulted with the public, most people have indicated that they would be prepared to pay a bit more for some services in order to protect services and jobs.’
He continued: ‘The brown bins were originally introduced as part of a Scotland-wide initiative to reduce waste going to landfill sites. Not everyone has a brown bin and therefore it is only fair that people who benefit from this service should pay a small fee to continue getting it, especially when we have been trying to manage a huge budget gap and make difficult choices about where to cut services.
‘The council is rightly moving to a more commercial approach in order to continue to provide services in the face of continuing reductions in budgets and increasing costs.’
Initial modelling has taken place which has identified that £660,000 net additional income could be generated based on a 33 per cent uptake of the service within households that currently receive the free service.
A similar scheme was introduced by Angus Council in July 2016. The £30 per household charge has been identified to be at the lower end of charges where they have been introduced, and the council understands the average charge per household in England is £42.
The charge will not be introduced until July and the service will remain free until then. Should residents no longer wish to use the service, their brown bin will be picked up and removed.
Residents will still be able to dispose of garden waste free of charge at their local recycling centre.
A fact sheet with further information is available on the council website: www.highland.gov.uk/info/1063/rubbish_-_household_waste/738/changes_to_brown_bin_collections.
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Work to improve safety at the Banavie Primary School junction is due to start next month.
Following concerns raised by Banavie Primary School staff and the parent council about road safety on the A830, BEAR Scotland has detailed plans for the work.
The width of the road at the crossing point will be reduced to make it safer for those crossing.
This will be achieved by realigning the kerbs on the south side of the A830 to reduce the width of the carriageway which will hopefully also encourage drivers to slow down. The crossing will be relocated seven metres west of its existing location.
In a letter to the public, the company also said the kerb to the west of the school access road will also be realigned resulting in a greater waiting area for those crossing the A830 and a wider pavement/footway in front of the bus shelter.
BEAR also plans to resurface footpaths in the area.
The work has been planned to coincide with the Easter school holidays to minimise disruption. It will start on Thursday April 6 on week nights with no weekend working anticipated.
The majority of work will take place between 7pm and 7am and should take 10 nights to complete. There should be minimal traffic delays.
Louise Pescod of Banavie Primary School Parent Council said: ‘We are delighted this work is going ahead. It’s the result of 15 years of successive parent councils campaigning to get a safer crossing on the A830 for our children.
‘Our primary concern has always been to have a safe crossing for our children with so much heavy traffic on the trunk road.’
Speaking to The Oban Times, Caol and Mallaig councillor Allan Henderson said: ‘While it is not exactly what the parents are looking for, this is a step in the right direction, recognising there is an issue at this busy junction which has a risky mixture of pedestrians who are mostly children and vehicles of all sizes.
‘Anything that can be done to heighten the awareness of possible risks will be of benefit and make for safer travel. Hopefully, the transport authorities will continue to monitor and not see this as the end of their improvements. They need to understand this is not a rural country lane but a really busy trunk route.’
Mr Henderson added BEAR had confirmed the crossing will not be a marked crossing but there to allow a school crossing patroller to help pedestrians cross. Outwith the times when the patroller is present, it will be a standard non controlled crossing point with dropped kerbs where pedestrians can wait for a suitable gap to cross.
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Residents in Kilmallie, Banavie and Corpach were vindicated this week after Transport Scotland finally accepted the need for controlled crossings on the A830.
Transport Scotland area manager David Devine met members of Kilmallie Community Council on Monday night to report that traffic surveys at Banavie swing bridge and the Co-op in Corpach showed there was a need for marked crossings with pedestrian controls.
A full feasibility study of both areas will now be carried out in the summer. Caol and Mallaig councillor Ben Thompson told the Lochaber Times it was a ‘major breakthrough’ for the community after Transport Scotland had denied the need for pedestrian crossings.
‘The community efforts of residents, the community council and the Lochaber Disability Access Panel, who have been campaigning for 15 years, is starting to bear fruit.’
Mr Thompson said previous surveys showed, during evening rush hour, there is only a five-second gap between cars making it impossible for people to get across the road.
‘This is a high priority for us and, hopefully, at the meeting we made this clear.’
Banavie resident Annette Hobson, who is registered blind and has trouble hearing, said she has been campaigning for a controlled crossing for years.
In January, she was involved in a near miss on the Fort William to Mallaig stretch near the swing bridge, which she thinks has been a factor in the decision.
She told the Lochaber Times: ‘It’s a very contentious issue for me and it’s been a long haul. I nearly got rid of my guide dog because I was so worried about her safety. Every time I have to cross that road my stomach is in knots. It’s terrifying.
‘This is a significant breakthrough and I hope we can continue to make progress and get the crossings sooner rather than later.’
Mr Thompson explained while Transport Scotland has funding for the feasibility study in the next financial year, it does not have money set aside to put the crossing in.
When asked if he was concerned about this, he said: ‘I’ll continue to be concerned until the crossings are in place and continue to put pressure on Transport Scotland to make sure they go in.’
Ms Hobson also shared the councillor’s concerns. She said: ‘The fact there may not be a budget for the crossing is ridiculous and I’m worried they’ll stall things because they are looking for the money.’
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: ‘The feasibility studies will be carried out in the coming months to make sure we have a clear picture of what is required at these locations. We need to see the results of these before the financial implications can be considered.’
Chairwoman of Kilmallie Community Council Christine Hutchison said: ‘This is positive in that we are going forward rather than standing still. It’s better than where we were because now something is happening. We will see what the study throws up.’
Councillor Allan Henderson said: ‘What now needs to be fully examined is the habits of pedestrians – for instance, when they cross from Montrose Mansions to the Corpach shop. As this involves car parking and a loading bay for the shop, it needs to be carefully examined to make sure any lights installed would be in exactly the right place.
‘This really vindicates the work done by Kilmallie Community Council, councillors and residents to prove to Transport Scotland there is a problem with pedestrians crossing this road.’
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At least 200 new affordable homes will be built in Fort William following the award of a £1.2 million grant from the Scottish Government to Lochaber Housing Association (LHA).
The announcement was made as housing minister Kevin Stewart was in Fort William.
Mr Stewart visited the site at Upper Achintore yesterday (Wednesday July 26), where a variety of mixed tenure homes for rent and private use will be developed.
‘We recognise the challenges of developing affordable housing in rural areas, so I’m delighted that our investment will help to make affordable housing a reality at this site,’ said Mr Stewart.
‘This grant will support the delivery of at least 200 new homes in Fort William and is a great example of how partnership working can deliver a range of homes to suit the needs of the local community.
‘Increasing the supply of affordable homes across Scotland is a key commitment and vital to our ambition of tackling poverty and inequality in our society.’
Director of Lochaber Housing Association Blair Allan said around 50 much-needed affordable homes have already been built in Upper Achintore in the past few years.
He said: ‘This Scottish Government grant takes our potential investment in affordable housing here to a new level.
‘Everyone knows that housing need in Fort William is intense. The opportunity here is that we can, in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Highland Council and others, go a significant way towards satisfying this need in the short to medium term. We are grateful to the Scottish Government for this support and for the confidence that it has shown in our ability to deliver.’
Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of the Highland Council’s places committee, welcomed the announcement. ‘This is good news for Lochaber where there has been a shortage of affordable housing,’ he said.
‘The development is especially welcome given the regeneration of the Fort William smelter and the new job opportunities coming to the area.
‘It comes on top of the recent welcome Scottish Government investment which has enabled the council and its partners to deliver new affordable homes in Tweeddale Apartments, Raasay Court and Belhaven Drive.’
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If further proof were ever needed of the affection and respect in which Moidart’s ‘Ceilidh King’ Fergie MacDonald is held by other musicians, look no further than next month’s Mòd in Fort William.
Fergie, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a special show at the Nevis Centre, Fort William, will be playing three gigs with his band over three nights during the Mòd, in the Volunteer Arms pub.
Fergie will be joined by his usual band – Colm Oru of Glenfinnan on banjo, Hugh MacCallum of Inverlochy on drums, Iain Macfarlane of Glenfinnan on fiddle, Addie Harper from Wick on accordion, and Robert Nairn from Acharacle on accordion.
Also in the line-up will be regular fiddler and Blazin’ Fiddles founder member Allan Henderson, of Mallaig, who will make a special trip across the Atlantic from Canada, where he will be on tour.
Allan will take the stage alongside Fergie and the rest of the band in the Volunteer Arms on Wednesday October 18, Thursday October 19 and Friday October 20.
Following the Friday night show, Allan will grab a few hours’ sleep before getting up at the crack of dawn and making his way to Glasgow for the first flight to New York, where he will take the stage later the same night.
Asked what it was about Fergie that made him want to come all the way from Canada, Allan told us: ‘I’d travel an awful lot further than that for Fergie.
‘I’ve been playing with him since I was 14 and he has been a huge influence on me and my career – on top of which we’re good friends.’
Allan will be playing at venues in Cape Breton in early October. He said: ‘I will then fly back to play with Fergie at the Mòd and then on the Saturday will fly to New York for a show that night before a series of gigs on the east coast,’ he said.
Asked what he thought of Fergie having been in the music business for 65 years, Allan said it was amazing: ‘Fergie’s staying power is incredible.
‘Every so often he talks about retiring, but then he’s out playing again and playing as well as ever. He still has the same amount of energy as when I first met him.
‘His popularity has never waned because his music is a cross-generational thing and people love him. That’s why the shows at the Volunteer Arms will be something special.’
And asked how he felt about Allan travelling thousands of miles back and forward over the Atlantic just to play the three shows with him, Fergie said: ‘That’s something else, isn’t it? But I think it says more about the kind of person Allan is, than anything it says about me.’
The BBC broadcast the special 80th birthday show staged recently at the Nevis Centre and, ahead of the Mòd, Fergie fans will have a chance to hear him in concert in a special edition of the BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor programme to be broadcast this Saturday (September 30) from 7pm.
The programme was recorded in Glasgow and saw Fergie give an hour-long interview to presenter Gary Innes on his 65 years in the music business.
Born in Glasgow, Fergie grew up on a Moidart croft and it was here he developed his expert marksman’s eye that would eventually see him represent Scotland numerous times at international shooting events.
He has also been a physiotherapist, army PT instructor, Highland Games athlete, hotelier, red deer manager, writer and historian, gamekeeper and even a poacher.
At the age of 14, Fergie acquired his own accordion and his high school headmaster invited him to perform at the Christmas school dance.
‘I can remember it like it was yesterday,’ Fergie said. ‘I was shaking in my shoes. The school always used to hire a band for its dances but one of the masters also played the accordion and thought I was capable of doing the Christmas dance.
‘That must’ve been 1954 as I was away to the army in 1955. Aye an’ there’s been some water under the bridge since then!’
It was when Fergie went to Glasgow to study physiotherapy that his music career really took off and the rest, as they say, is history.
He has played with the greats of Scottish music, of which he himself has long been counted, but has never lost his down-to-earth honest Highland manner and charm.
To mark his 65 years in music, Fergie was recently presented with a Landmark Award by the Hands Up for Trad music organisation in Fort William.
On his upcoming gigs at this year’s Mòd, Fergie says he can’t wait, adding: ‘I really like being in the fringe at the Mòd, in amongst the crowds. The boys and I are really looking forward to it.
‘Allan will be the slightly tired, jet-lagged one on the fiddle.’
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A Lochaber councillor has labelled the recent collapse of The Underwater Centre in Fort William as ‘a national disgrace’.
Councillor Allan Henderson expressed frustration that public and industry bodies were unable to prevent the subsea training from closing, after the subject was raised at Monday’s Lochaber Ideas Week Question Time debate.
Mr Henderson’s comments come after 48 jobs were lost last month when the diver training and trials facility in Fort William was forced to cease trading and placed into administration.
The Caol and Mallaig councillor said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ to hear the news of the centre’s closure.
He said: ‘This isn’t an issue with a lack of skills, The Underwater Centre has some of the highest skilled staff members in the area. A lot of it has to do with the political situation which has made it very difficult.’
He continued: ‘It’s not a Scottish problem, this is a national problem, and we are allowing it to fail at this moment in time. It’s a national disgrace.’
Mr Henderson also explained it would cost ‘a relatively small amount’ to keep the centre operational compared to the money needed to build a new subsea training centre – which he said either the government or industry will have to shoulder when the demand for divers inevitably picks up.
The news of The Underwater Centre’s collapse came just five months after a deal was announced to restructure The Underwater Centre which saw industry and public bodies, including Subsea 7, TechnipFMC, Premier Oil, Oil & Gas UK, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), collaborating to support the diver training centre – one of only two places in the world which provides closed-bell diver training.
CEO of HIE, Charlotte Wright, said: ‘The industry works in a cycle of boom and bust and while we are in a very difficult period at the moment, I remain confident there can be a future for The Underwater Centre. Otherwise someone else will have to come in and recreate it which will cost millions.’
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The Caol and Mallaig councillor said that the fare increases are reasonable.
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A senior Lochaber councillor has welcomed a surprise offer from a local businessman to look into the building of a waste to energy incinerator that would burn 100,000 tons of rubbish to generate heat and power for local homes.
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A lively debate ensued as questions were asked of a panel of high profile Lochaber figures in one of the big events of Lochaber Ideas Week.
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Pupils who require support in schools in Lochaber and elsewhere across the Highlands are suffering frustration, anxiety and stress following the reduction in Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision since last session, according to a survey conducted by EIS Highland Local Association, part of Scotland’s largest teacher union.
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The allegation refers to Highland Council's temporary suspension of the current scheme of delegation for dealing with planning applications during the coronavirus crisis.
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FSB Scotland says it supports appropriate regulations for short-term lets, but believes that the Scottish Government is using a 'sledgehammer to crack nuts.'
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Local Caol and Mallaig ward Highland councillors Allan Henderson welcomed the confirmation of the new GPS, although it had been expected that at least one of them would be in post this month.
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The plans to bring a 'service within a service' are currently being discussed among the Fort William 2020 Group, West Highland Review Group, ScotRail and various community councils.
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The event raised a total of £473 which will go towards helping Ukrainian refugees.
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But with a new tourism season and an influx of visitors ahead, Ms Forbes cautioned that while tourism is a crucial part of Lochaber's rural economy, it must work with local communities and landscapes.
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