Around 3,500 crofters have failed to return documentation confirming they live within 20 miles of their croft and are maintaining it properly.
The Crofting Commission will issue warning letters to those who missed the deadline for submitting their annual return pointing out it is a criminal offence which could be referred to the procurator fiscal if non-compliance continues. The Commission said it is not clear why so many crofters have not returned the form and is urging everyone involved to do so now.
There are approximately 20,000 crofts and 16,000 crofters in Scotland, concentrated largely in the Highlands and Islands. The Crofting Commission estimates that crofting tenure covers more than 750,000 hectares and supports around 33,000 residents.
Concrete abutment works encasing older sheet piled walls on both east and west sides of the dry dock at Kishorn have recently been finished enabling work to begin on the £42 million pound expansion project of the dock.
The first phase of the work is expected to support 84 jobs over the next 18 months with the completed project aiming to create the port as a key site for offshore wind logistics and the manufacturing of concrete floating foundations, with the potential to support up to 1,500 jobs.
The work is funded in part by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to the extent of £24 million pounds, part of a broader £500 million pound Scottish Government commitment to develop port infrastructure and the offshore wind supply chain.
Figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats reveal that almost 60,000 patients in the Highlands have waited for more than four hours in A&E since the Scottish Government’s four hour target was last met.
Around 14,000 people waited more than 12 hours and almost 5,300 waited longer than 8 hours. Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray has accepted that some patients are waiting too long for treatment with emergency departments facing sustained pressure with high levels of hospital occupancy impacting patient flows and causing delays. He has stated that the Government is investing £200 million pounds to cut waiting times, boost capacity and improve the flow of patients through hospital.
The football league season starts this weekend.
Ross County has an away match in the Championship against Airdrieonians, Inverness Caley Thistle also plays away in League 1 against Kelty Hearts. Both games kick off at 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.
