SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING
INTERIM COMMUNITY COUNCIL ELECTONS
Nominations are being sought for Conon Bridge Community Council with the closing date for nominations being 30 August. For more information please use the links below. The link to the nomination pack is also given below, highlighted in yellow.
Community Council Interim elections - 2022 | Community Council Candidate Pack (highland.gov.uk)
Community Council Interim elections - 2022 | Community Council Election Notice (highland.gov.uk)
NHS (Tec) Team
NHS Highland TEC Team have a Facebook and Twitter page to keep you up to date on all things: Connect Me, Telecare and Near Me.
Please check out our page and give us a follow to keep up to date: Facebook: NHS Highland Technology Enable Care or Twitter @NHSHighlandTEC.
What do we do?
Near Me is a confidential video consulting service. It enables people to attend appointments from a convenient location, such as their own home.
Telecare is an emergency alarm and remote monitoring system that provides support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The system ensures that a minor event does not turn into a crisis by making sure that when something happens an alarm is raised and an appropriate response is provided promptly.
Connect Me (powered by InHealthcare) is a remote monitoring service, which enables patients to share information about their health condition with healthcare professionals.
Patients have a choice of communication channels- using an app, website, texts or landline. Patients who use the app can track their own readings (e.g. BP) over time on a graph.
CONON BRIDGE AND MARYBURGH CUBS
Conon Bridge Flood Defences Improvement Works to start
The Highland Council have awarded the Conon Bridge Flood Defences Improvement contract to Strath Civil Engineering Ltd who will soon be on site to start work.
The project is required to upgrade the existing flood defence bund to the south of River Conon between the A862 road bridge and the Network Rail bridge. The current flood protection for a 1 in 100 year flood event, is to be increased up to SEPA’s latest requirement of defence against a 1 in 200 year flood event.
Ground investigation works carried out over the last two years have identified the requirement of a cut off trench to reduce seepage from under the bund. The Works shall include heightening the existing bund from its current level of approximately 6.2m to a height of 7.1m with a seepage cut off ditch.
Strath Civils will be starting on site on Monday 15 November with the works expected to be completed early next year.
In the interest of public safety, the core path RC09.01, also known as the Ladies Walk, which runs beside the River Conon between the former Drouthy Duck public house and Conon Mains Farm will be closed off between the Drouthy Duck and the Network Rail bridge for the duration of the works.
A council spokesman said:” We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will open the path as soon as the flood protection improvements works are completed.”
Signs will be erected at both ends of the Ladies Walk informing the public of these closures along with the latest updates for this project.
Conon Bridge - 24 Windows of Advent
The End of Dingwall Monday Club
The Dingwall Monday Club was started as a social club for the over 50’s in 1989. They met every Monday in the Community Centre and quickly became very popular with 40 members from Dingwall and the surrounding villages. The Community Centre didn’t have the capacity to take any more and with a long list of potential members wishing to join, they moved to the British Legion Hall on the High Street, Dingwall. In 2014 they had 119 members and it was not unusual to have 80+ members attending, especially when there was an interesting speaker or a group of musicians to play all their favourite tunes. The Club always had a Christmas Lunch, latterly at the National Hotel, and went on several outings each year with Spa Coaches.
Unfortunately, numbers had been falling in recent years and for a few months before lockdown the majority of the committee had indicated they would not be standing again. The President, Mrs Janette Steele, had already continued for a year longer than she intended. No-one came forward to say they were willing to serve as President or to go on the Committee. The Club held their last meeting on Monday 16th March 2020 when only 34 members attended.
The Committee met on Monday 8th June 2021 and voted with great sadness to close the Dingwall Monday Club after one final outing to say goodbye. This was arranged for the 2nd September with 2 Spa Coaches taking members to Ullapool and an Afternoon Tea at Coul House, Contin on their return. The sunny weather made the trip enjoyable and the Afternoon Tea was excellent, a fitting end to the Club.
On the 12th October this year, a cheque for £850.00 (the amount remaining in the Dingwall Monday Club bank account) was presented to the Royal British Legion Scotland by the President, Janette Steele, Past President, Daphne Fraser and Treasurer, Anne Edwards. Accepting the cheque on behalf of the Dingwall Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland was Chairman, Fraser Campbell, Secretary, Morris Colven and Treasurer, Robert Moore.
Anne Edwards, Treasurer & Outings Secretary
Windsor Place Residents Group
A resident's group is currently being established for Windsor Place. For more information please see https://www.facebook.com/groups/966082160639082/?ref=share_group_link
Ross & Cromarty Citizen Advice Bureau
Ross and Cromarty Citizens Advice Bureau are looking to recruit additional directors. Can you spare a few hours to help us.
If you would like more information please contact Mary MacDonald by e-mail mary.macdonald@alnesscab.casonline.org.uk or telephone 01349 883333
Proposed Mixed Development - Riverford Conon Bridge
Proposed mixed use development including 45 residential units and 1.3 ha allocated for business use, with all associated infrastructure, open space and landscaping at Riverford, Conon Bridge, Highland, IV7 8AH.
The developers have sent us information on public consultations for this development as detailed below. Please note if you try to access the webpage it currently displays a holding message.
1.The events will be produced virtually via Teams using a Live Event type of meeting.
2.The link to the event will be posted at www.mga-architecture.co.uk/riverford-public-consultation on the 27th August 2021 together with the presentation material, at the same time as the Riverford Public Consultation page goes live.
3.During the event, a public and private live chat will be available to communicate between the producers/ presenters/ attendees. The microphones and cameras of the attendees will be enabled should they wish to use audio-visual communication. The questions from the public will be responded to verbally using audio-visual means. The presentation material will be shared on screen.
The date/ time:
1st event: 03 September 2021 3-7pm
2nd event: 17 September 2021 3-7pm
4.The advertisement of the PoAN including the details of the events will be printed on 27 August in the Ross-shire Journal. A letter drop has also been arranged to the addresses within 500m of the site boundary.
Presentation received 27 August 2021 documents/1405-pres01c.pdf
Scout Recruitment Drive
Conon Bridge AFC (11 June 2021) 
Conon Bridge Amateur Football Club is now well underway with their league matches for the first time in 25 years. Organised and managed by firefighter Fraser Heath of Conon Bridge. He said “it has been his dream to encourage sport within his local community while providing opportunities for young people to get involved!
If anyone has any queries or would like to get in touch email info@highlandsports.co.uk
Keep an eye on their Facebook page for more news and information. https://www.facebook.com/CononBridgefc
Ladies Walk - Vandalism (31 March 2021)
It was brought to to the attention at the start of this week, that there had been some vandalism carried out along the Ladies Walk. It is also possible that the person(s) responsible for this also left the two gates at the level crossing open, which could have resulted in a child or animal running into the path of a moving train, with devastating effects.
The Community Council had just appointed a contractor to carry out repairs to the Ladies Walk in agreement with the Landowner. This work was to see bridges, steps and handrails replaced/repaired. The project will now see a delay due to parts of work now needing to be requoted following the vandalism carried out. 
Easter Kidz Bootcamp 2021
ILM Highland & Material Focus Recycling announce partnership
We are very excited to announce our new partnership with the national ‘Recycle Your Electricals‘ Campaign!
Joining forces with Material Focus (the mastermind behind the campaign) we can increase our existing reuse and repair efforts of electrical waste in the Highlands. As part of the campaign, we are installing 10 new Small Electrical Waste containers in key chosen locations across Highland including Fortrose, Muir of Ord, Conon Bridge, Dingwall, Alness, Invergordon, Bonar Bridge and Dornoch – with more to be announced. These new containers should make it significantly easier for households to donate their unwanted waste electronic & electrical equipment (or WEEE) in a safe, convenient and environmentally conscious way.
Material Focus (formerly the WEEE Fund), is a not-for-profit organisation whose goal is to stop the nation throwing away or hoarding all their old small electricals. The ‘Recycle Your Electricals’ campaign is part of a nationwide effort to make people more aware of electrical waste within the UK, and what can be done about it. Research conducted by Material Focus has found that UK householders are hoarding around 527 million small electrical items, an average of nearly 20 per household. That’s bonkers you might say. How does that even happen?
Surprisingly easy. Say you have 2 old mobile phones kicking about in a drawer somewhere, a digital camera tucked away in a cupboard, an abandoned Gameboy wedged behind the sofa, an old laptop sitting on the corner of your desk and an ancient book-reading tablet gathering dust on the shelf… That’s not all either! What about that kettle that you don’t use anymore that you stashed under the kitchen sink? Or the TV in the spare bedroom that doesn’t actually work?
What would be the impact be of you donating these to a ‘Recycle Your Electricals’ collection point? Using this nifty reuse calculator – donating these items rather than hoarding them or throwing them away would result in helping 6 other households, saving £730 and sparing 489kg of C02 emissions as these products then go on to get reused, repaired and recycled. That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?
So what electrical items can you recycle at these new collection points?
A vast amount and too many to mention individually – but here are the headline acts.
Personal & Professional IT devices
Laptops, desktops, phones, tablets
Cables, mouses, keyboards,
Printers, scanners,
Smartwatches & smart speakers (see how Alexa likes it when you ask her where the nearest electrical recycling point is…)
Household Appliances
Appliances: kettle, slow-cooker, blenders, toasters,
Household: Irons, vacuum-cleaners
Entertainment
Speakers, DVD players, remote controls
Game Consoles, electric toys, MP3 players, microphones, digital cameras, digital instruments, portable stereos, turntables
Personal Grooming
Hairdryer, curling irons, straighteners
Electric toothbrushes, thermometers
Electric shavers and epilators
Miscellaneous
Electric saws, power drills, sanders
Sewing machines
Extension cords
If in doubt about what you can donate, or want advice on how to clear data off of your personal devices – contact us at 01349 884774 or email ilm@ilmhighland.co.uk.
Conon and Maryburgh Outdoor Bowling Club - Co-op Local Cause
It is brilliant to see that the Bowling Club has been selected for the CO-OP Local Community Fund! So if you are local to the Club we need your support! Ways you can support us:
If you aren't already a CO-OP member, get yourself signed up for a £1, and select Conon/Maryburgh Outdoor Bowling Club as your cause (as well as earning yourself some rewards!)
If you are already a member then please select Conon/Maryburgh Outdoor Bowling Club as your cause and support us to carry on our well-being work with the young and young at heart.
The more members who select the bowling club and shop at the CO-OP, the more funds we will receive!
https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/52818
Thank you! We really appreciate your support!
COVID -19 Voluteering Links
We have been asked to share these links:
Scottish Government on Twitter
National Volunteering Plan for Scotland
HIGHLAND COUNCIL PAYMENT INFORMATION
This information may be of help to some:
HIGHLAND COUNCIL MESSAGE
Highland Council Trading Standards issues advice on COVID-19 Scams
In the wake of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Highland Council Trading Standards are issuing a warning to the public about a series of new scams related to the virus.
One is an email claiming to be from the government, offering a tax rebate to support people through this challenging period. The email, which looks official, informs the recipient of the rebate amount and requests that you click a link to receive it.
The recipient is then asked to fill in personal details, including their credit card number and address. These details allow the scammer to take money directly from the recipient's bank account.
In another email-based scam, claiming to be from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The email, claims to hold crucial coronavirus safety advice, it has an attachment which downloads a keylogger, allowing scammers to follow the online movements of the user, and in doing so gain access to the device and personal details.
Mark McGinty, Trading Standards Team Leader states, “although we have not received any information to suggest a member of the Highland community has fallen victim to such scams, it is clear that the wider picture is showing us that the scammers have arrived and are here to take advantage of the situation.
"The onset of scammers in Highland is not expected to be any different from other parts of the country, as such, we are working with our partners and will be distributing messages across all media platforms, identifying the most recent scams to inform the public. The advice as ever is if in doubt, check it out. Please don’t enter into something you are not sure about.”
Partner activity includes Citizens Advice Scotland who have a scam checker which you can access by visiting their website.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have stated it will consider any evidence that companies may have broken competition or consumer protection law, for example by charging excessive prices or making misleading claims about the efficacy of protective equipment. And it will take direct enforcement action in appropriate cases.
Mark McGinty also states “I’d urge the public to be extra vigilant at this time, scams come in all forms and scammers have no conscience, they are unscrupulous, well organised, and will stoop to no low to get your money. The situation is evolving all the time and Highland Council Trading Standards will be doing its best to keep the public informed.”
Members of the public wishing advice on a particular matter can contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or visit consumeradvice.scot
Bus Timetable Changes - 23 March 2020
There are changes to the bus timetables starting on Monday 23 March due to the current Corona Virus situation. Please visit Stagecoach for further information
A835/B9163 JUNCTION CLOSURE
DINGWALL CHORAL SOCIETY EVENT
Thank You
The Community Council would like to express their thanks to Hazel MacKay and her helper for pruning the roses at the War Memorial at no cost to the Community. This was greatly appreciated by all Community Council members and we are sure that the expert attention to the roses will see them flourish.
Helping Hands Befriending Service
Black Isle Community Car Scheme (BICCS)
The Community Car Scheme is a car-sharing scheme with volunteer drivers using their own cars to take scheme members to and from a destination of their choice within the Black Isle area.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer driver or wish to become a member of the scheme, further details can be accessed by clicking on the link
