This week is officially Volunteers Week, an annual UK wide campaign held from the first Monday in June to celebrate and recognise the contributions of volunteers. Launched in 1984, this initiative has been running for over 40 years providing organisations and communities with a platform to thank current and past volunteers for their invaluable efforts.
The campaign highlights the diversity and unity of volunteer work across the UK. In its 40th year last year, the campaign underwent a rebrand, introducing a vibrant identity to inspire continued engagement. Volunteers’ Week fosters connections between national organisations and grassroots groups, celebrating the spirit of volunteering that enriches communities each year. This year’s celebration runs from today, Monday 2nd June to next Sunday 8th June.
The Highland Council along with Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Council has awarded a 20 year contract worth £300 million pounds to EasyGo in order to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure for the north of Scotland.
The large-scale EV infrastructure project will accelerate the region’s transition to Net Zero and see 570 new charging points installed across the north of Scotland by 2028, more than doubling the existing EV infrastructure and further enhancing the region’s charging network. EasyGo will also adopt and maintain all existing council-owned public charging points in the region.
Transport Scotland has committed more than £7 million of funding to enable the partnership of Councils as part of the Scottish Government’s £30 million Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. The fund was launched in 2022 and enables local authorities to work with the private sector to deliver a high-quality public EV charging network across all of Scotland.
The north of Scotland partnership is the first inter-council contract to have been awarded and is the largest grant award in Scotland since the fund’s inception.
Users of the A835 road are reminded that the first set of roadworks west of Tarvie is scheduled to start at 7pm tonight and will run till 6am tomorrow, then at the same times every night except Friday and Saturday until next Tuesday 10th June. The road will be closed through the working periods with amnesties on each hour from 8pm until midnight and again at 2 and 4am.
The work is to resurface the carriageway and the contractors, BEAR (Scotland) have confirmed that materials removed from the existing carriageway will be recycled using SEPA approved methods.
