A sports hall in Easterhouse, a disused mill in John O’Groats, an area of amenity land in Strathpeffer and a stretch of foreshore on the Isle of Skye will soon be in the hands of local people as four community groups receive financial support from the Scottish Land Fund.
Announcement of the grants was made by Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham.
The largest of the latest round of grants announced today was made to John O’Groats Mill Trust, which has received £348,064 to acquire the B-listed, disused John O’Groats Mill along with 9.5 acres of land and two self-catering holiday cottages. The Trust intends to restore the Mill to its former working condition and develop it as a visitor attraction and a social and heritage centre, creating a number of employment, volunteering, training, and skills development opportunities.
Rognvald Brown, John O’ Groats Mill Trust, said: “Thanks to this award from the Scottish Land Fund our community can begin to benefit from this iconic facility in our midst and make it a social, educational, cultural and heritage hub. We realise there are still many steps and lots of hard work on the way to achieving all our goals, but with this vote of confidence comes a tremendous sense of empowerment.”
Connect Community Trust in the Wellhouse area of Easterhouse, Glasgow has received £114,732 to purchase the HubSports building, which they have been leasing from Glasgow City Council for more than a decade.
THE plan to build the UK’s first vertical launch spaceport in the far north is “a fantastic confidence boost” for the area and could be a catalyst for other developments, local trade unionists have been told.
June Love, of Space Hub Sutherland, also suggested the project could benefit the tourism industry when she gave an update at a meeting of Thurso and Wick Trade Union Council.
She said the spaceport at Moine, between Tongue and Durness, is the only one to receive grant funding for a vertical launch site. It is expected to create 40 local jobs with a further 400 in the wider region.
The aim is to have small commercial and research satellites in sub-orbital flight by the early 2020s.
The UK Space Agency gave £2.5 million towards the cost of the £17.5 million project, which also involves companies such as Lockheed Martin and Orbex. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has given £9.8 million to the project.
Ms Love said the spaceport could provide other potential opportunities for the area. “It brings inward investment potential and is a fantastic confidence boost for the area.
“It could attract other things here and help the tourist industry as people would want to come and see the site,” she told Thursday night’s meeting.
She said the area has the highly skilled workforce and the facilities required for such an initiative which will help sustain the reputation of the north Highlands as a centre for science and technology. It will also help diversify the local economy as jobs are lost at the Dounreay nuclear plant while it is being decommissioned.
It is expected a planning application will be submitted by late 2019. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring of next year and take 12 months to complete, with the first launch due in the early 2020s. Architects have been appointed to design the spaceport.
Ms Love said the spacecraft will be about 17 metres high and weigh less than 20 tons. The journey into space will take between 15 and 20 minutes.
She said initial launches will use international staff but local staff will be required over time. Other launch companies are taking an interest in the project.
Ms Love pointed out that discussions have taken place with the Melness Crofters Estate on leasing land and said North Highland College (UHI) in Thurso could be involved in training and other aspects of the project such as research and development.
Trades council chairman Davie Alexander said: “This is a very positive step and can only be a good thing for the area.”
Lockheed Martin is an American aerospace giant which employs 100,000 people worldwide, while Orbital Express (Orbex) is a UK-based space flight company developing a new orbital micro-launch vehicle.
It is expected six small rockets a year will be launched from the Sutherland site.
Source – John O’Groat Journal
The first Norwegian style learning centre in the UK will be officially opened in Thurso today (Monday March 25).
Newton Rooms are designed to inspire more young people to become interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and encourage them to study these subjects in school and beyond.
The centre at North Highland College UHI in Thurso is the first of a network of Newton Rooms being created in the Highland region by the Science Skills Academy, a partnership project led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) with £3m from the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
It will provide an inspirational setting for school pupils to take part in practical activities which complement the STEM sectors found in the region. It also provides an accessible base for extracurricular STEM activities not only for young people but also their families and others in the local community as well as across the region.
Although initially focused on the Highland region, due to City-Region Deal funding, the programme will seek to spread its activity across all areas in the Highlands and Islands region.
Other organisations behind the initiative include Skills Development Scotland, the University of the Highlands and Islands, The Highland Council and NHS Highland.
International specialist firm FIRST Scandinavia, the company that developed and owns the Newton concept, was appointed by HIE last year to create Scotland’s first Newton room in Thurso.
Scotland’s second Newton Room in Lochaber will be opened on the 2nd April and, in the interim period, will be hosted at Caol Youth Centre. It is intended that it will later be part of the new Centre for Science and Technology in Fort William which is being planned by West Highland College UHI.
Organisations behind the project are developing Newton Modules to match STEM sectors in the Highlands and Islands, which will complement the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence and Scottish STEM Strategy.
Andrew Johnston, HIE’s director for the Science Skills Academy, said: “It’s great to see the first Newton Room in the country officially opened in Thurso. Caithness has been at the forefront of scientific and technological advances in Scotland for more than 60 years and this facility will help it stay there. The centre will aim to inspire young people across the whole of Caithness and North Sutherland who are interested in STEM subjects.
Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead
said: “The Newton Rooms project offers pupils and the community a wonderful opportunity to discover and become enthused by STEM.
“This is the first facility of its kind to open in the UK, supported by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, and reflects Scotland’s position as a pioneer in STEM. It is important that we engage and involve people from all walks of life and at all ages to develop STEM skills and knowledge in our rapidly changing world, to enrich their lives and benefit the Scottish economy.
“I would like to thank the staff of North Highland College and their partners for their work inspiring children and young people and providing new and creative opportunities to make STEM education stimulating, attractive and rewarding.”
Donald MacBeath, principal of North Highland College UHI, said: “I’m delighted that the main campus of North Highland College UHI will be hosting the country’s first Newton Room. I believe it will become the focal point for innovative and industry-focussed STEM learning for the area’s young people. Being located in a college environment with a significant STEM research portfolio will only further add value to the overall Newton Room experience”