OIC News
A training scheme to help reduce the number of collisions involving motorcyclists is being run for the first time in Orkney
North Ronaldsay, Orkney’s most northerly island community, is seeking applicants for a unique role overseeing care and repair work on a historic stone dyke that plays a vital part in the management of a unique local breed of ancient seaweed eating sheep.
Businesses in Orkney are being invited to take part in the Orkney Business Survey 2019.
Orkney Islands Council has welcomed an announcement that innovative plans for greater local management of the seas around the islands have taken an important step forward.
An ambitious new partnership to shape the future direction for Orkney’s World Heritage Site has been unveiled today.
Young people with a flair for customer care are being offered the chance to hone their skills at a free workshop being run by Orkney Business Gateway.
Events next week will provide an opportunity to find out more about the proposed Harbours Masterplan for Orkney.
A special exhibition at the Orkney Museum is retelling the startling story of the scuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow 100 years ago.
Orkney Islands Council's Aurrida House service will mark its 20th birthday this June.
A project to supply locally produced 'green' electrical power to the MV Hamnavoe NorthLink ferry while docked in Stromness, Orkney, is due to get underway shortly.
A decision made earlier this year that Orkney Islands Council should charge for replacement household waste bins comes into effect next week.
A business networking breakfast event is being held at the end of this month, to officially launch a new Business Gateway service.
Two local young people have been selected to sit on a national panel designed to ensure young peoples' voices are heard as part of the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
Orkney is forging new links with Scandinavian and Arctic states as the Islands Council prepares for the impact of Brexit on the county.
Councillors held discussions today (Monday 4 February) with Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell MSP over the potential impact on Orkney of the Brexit process.
Orkney Islands Council is to support the development of a multi-partner £28.5m project which could maximise the potential for renewable energy generation in Orkney – and ultimately eliminate the need for fossil fuels.
Orkney Islands Council scooped an award at last night's Scottish Renewables Young Professionals Green Energy Awards in Glasgow.
A campaign by Orkney Islands Council to boost metals recycling rates in the county has been shortlisted for a national award.
Orkney Islands Council’s Building Standards team has scooped a top award at the Scottish Government’s Building Standards Division awards.
The voting results in Orkney for the European Parliamentary Election 2019 have been counted.
Feedback is invited on a plan setting out ambitions for health and social care services in Orkney.
The Council has issued a reminder that people have just a few days left to help choose the name for the county's new pilot launch.
Orkney Islands Council has joined organisations around the world in declaring a climate emergency.
The Council’s Elections team is urging people who vote by post to take time to ensure that they have completed the postal voting statement correctly for the forthcoming European Parliamentary Elections.
The Council is to appoint an Interim Chief Executive.
The film projected on to the walls of St Magnus Cathedral to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.
At today’s Statutory General Meeting, Councillor Harvey Johnston has been re-elected by fellow Councillors as Convener of Orkney Islands Council.
Orkney Islands Council is seeking feedback on proposed changes to its planning guidance for housing in the countryside.
Orkney’s special friendship with Norway will be celebrated this Friday (17 May) when the annual Norwegian Constitution Day takes place.
Help and advice are on offer this week for people keen to build their skills in using numbers.
National Numeracy Day will be marked in Orkney with a drop-in event at Kirkwall Town Hall and Community Centre on Wednesday 15 May from 10:00 to 16:00.
Orkney Islands Council is undertaking a two-stage process ahead of awarding school and public bus contracts for 2020-2025.
Tenders for the contracts will be invited next month. But before this, operators interested in running one or more of the routes need to apply to join a ‘framework’ of suppliers.
A different approach to providing social care and community health services is to be developed and trialled in Orkney.
The aim is to put local communities at the heart of decision-making when it comes to working out how to deliver services that best meet local needs.
Orkney Islands Council is reminding local folk that a series of consultation events will be held in Stromness next week for local folk to come together and discuss and share ideas for the future of the town.
Work is about to begin on building a new boardwalk path at Happy Valley in Stenness.
Key documents on Orkney Islands Council's Community Wind Farm project are now available through the planning portal on the council website.
Orkney Islands Council's spring and summer road resurfacing programme for 2019 is due to get underway next week.
Sixteen local youth workers are celebrating after successfully completing a Professional Development Award in Youth Work.
Local voters wishing to secure a postal vote for the forthcoming European Parliamentary Elections are being reminded that they need to apply by 17.00 on May 8.
New arrangements for agreeing the leasing of Council properties to businesses and community groups have been a great success - with 25 properties leased out since January 2018.
A public vote opens this week to select the name for Orkney’s new pilot launch - currently under construction in Spain.
Summer public bus service timetables for Orkney are due to come into effect from Sunday May 5.
A series of consultation events will be held in Stromness next month for local folk to come together and discuss and share ideas for the future of Stromness.
A programme of events has been announced marking 100 years since the scuttling of the German High Seas fleet in Scapa Flow.
Orkney Islands Council is to investigate an additional two sites for potential community wind farms in the county - to add to the project already under investigation on Hoy.
The Council has announced where grounds maintenance work will be focused over the months ahead.
Fees for using Orkney Islands Council’s electric vehicle chargers are set to be introduced next month.
Orkney Islands Council is carrying out flagstone repairs in Kirkwall town centre this week.
Changes have been made to the fitness suite timetable at Stromness Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre, following consultation with local community organisations and businesses.
A member of staff at Orkney Islands Council has been shortlisted in a national awards scheme which recognises the best young talent in the renewables and energy fields.
The Council is reminding households and businesses that there will be no waste or recycling collections on the May Day Holiday (Monday 6 May).
Views are invited on whether people would like to see more wheelchair-accessible taxis and private hire cars operating in Orkney.
Arrangements for holding elections to the European Parliament are being put in place by Orkney Islands Council’s elections team, in line with local authorities across the country.
Orkney Islands Council is to develop an Active Travel Plan for Stenness and the adjacent World Heritage Site area.
A partnership project between Orkney Islands Council, Stromness Community Council and the Stromness Community Development Trust is launched this week, to bring local people together to discuss and share ideas for the future of Stromness.
Orkney householders are being congratulated for their efforts with new figures showing metal packaging recycling has increased by an impressive amount over the last 18 months.
Work is continuing at a steady pace on the THI Places and Spaces project in central Kirkwall, as contractors and archaeologists work alongside each other whilst the Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA) investigates and records structures uncovered in Castle Street.
Eight elite sportspeople from Orkney have been awarded a grant aimed at helping athletes meet travel costs associated with pursuing their sporting goals and ambitions.
A ten pence increase in the price of school meals in Orkney will come into effect later this month.
A new development programme for women entrepreneurs in Orkney is open for applications.
Spring is in the air at the Orkney Museum, Tankerness House, this April with an exhibition of new paintings by local artist Sheena Graham-George.
Hope Laing and Maya Tams-Gray have been elected as Orkney's two new Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
The multi-agency Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordinating Group (OLECG) met today (Friday 29 March) to consider the potential impact of industrial action by air traffic controllers working for Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.
A plan for how Orkney's harbours could potentially be developed in the coming years is due to be consulted on and then built upon over the next 12 months.
A special online safety event for older people has taken place at Kirkwall Town Hall and Community Centre.
Free sanitary products are to be made available in a range of public buildings in Orkney from next month.
Orkney Islands Council will be contacting local business owners about their responsibilities in terms of waste and recycling disposal – to help them stay on the right side of the law and avoid fines.
Major road closures are to come into effect in Kirkwall from next week (week beginning 1 April) as part of the ongoing works in Broad Street.
A section of Bignold Park Road will be closed in the evenings between Wednesday 20 March and Friday 22 March, and from 08:00 to 17:00 on Saturday 23 March to enable road resurfacing works to be carried out.
Work to repair a damaged wall on Pegal Burn Bridge, around 4 miles north of Lyness on the main Lyness to Moaness road (B9047) in Hoy, is due to start this Thursday 21 March.
Orkney's social work service will be celebrated at a World Social Work Day event in Kirkwall this week.
Street works in Kirkwall town centre will move to the opposite side of Broad Street from today (week beginning 18 March).
Orkney Islands Council was named winner at a national awards ceremony this week for its work on the Big HIT project.
The Council’s Local Review Body will hold a meeting in Sanday next week.
A survey has been launched for residents of isles with both an air and ferry service - Eday, North Ronaldsay, Sanday, Stronsay or Westray.
Voting opens this Friday 15 March to elect Orkney’s two Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs).
A review undertaken by the Chief Officer of Orkney Health and Care has concluded that St Colm’s will continue to play its part in providing services for people with learning disabilities.
Two families from war-torn Syria are beginning to build new lives in Orkney.
The Leader of Orkney Islands Council has expressed his concern that the Scottish Government is providing reduced funding for the county’s internal ferry service for the year ahead.
Albert Street in Kirkwall will reopen to traffic on Monday afternoon (March 4).
Plans are developing to mark the centenary of the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow.
Girl power is set to take centre stage in Orkney next month - with an all-female candidate list for the upcoming Scottish Youth Parliament elections in March.
Temporary street closures will be in place in Stromness over the next two days (Thursday 28 February and Friday 1 March) whilst Orkney Islands Council completes flagstone repairs.
Work to reinstate headstones laid flat in Orkney's cemeteries is due to get underway shortly.
Orkney Islands Council has cancelled the meeting where Elected Members would have set the authority’s budget for the financial year ahead.
A contract has been signed for two new tugs for Orkney Islands Council's Marine Services.
Elected Members have recommended that Orkney Islands Council’s budget for the year ahead should take account of the uncertain times the country faces.
Personal licence holders in Orkney are being reminded that they must act now to ensure that they apply to renew their personal licences by 31 May this year - or risk losing them.
Police Scotland and Orkney Islands Council are asking drivers to ‘think bus’ when leaving vehicles in St Margaret’s Hope.
Planning is underway to help a further two families from war-ravaged Syria build new lives in Orkney.
Orkney's biennial Youth Conference got underway at the Kirkwall Town Hall this morning (7 February).
The Council is to identify headstones assessed as unstable in local kirkyards to give families advanced notice that these are scheduled to be laid flat.
The North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme (NILPS) team is now up to full strength with the appointment of three new staff members.
Orkney Islands Council is providing a further opportunity for the public to view and comment on plans to expand Cursiter Quarry in Firth.
The next stage of street improvements in Kirkwall's town centre will get underway next Wednesday (6 Feb).
Next Saturday (9 February) sees the opening of a new exhibition at the Orkney Museum, Tankerness House, Kirkwall.
A new report has revealed that 70.3% of full-time students successfully completed their studies at Highlands and Islands colleges in the 2017 to 2018 academic year.
A drop-in event takes place later this week (Friday 1 February) to give people the chance to talk over ideas for the future development of Papdale East Playpark and surrounding footpaths.
An exciting opportunity is on offer to local artists – an arts residency at this year’s Island Games in Gibraltar.
Roads in central Stromness will be closed for a short period next week to enable Orkney Islands Council to complete flagstone repairs.
The new Orkney Research and Innovation Campus (ORIC) in Stromness has appointed an executive manager following a recent recruitment campaign.
A comprehensive makeover of Orkney Islands Council’s website is about to get underway.
Work to improve the marshalling and parking areas next to the Shapinsay Slip in Kirkwall is due to start next week.
Orkney Islands Council is calling on the Scottish Government to honour a commitment to provide fully fair funding for the county’s inter-island ferry service.
A temporary one-way system is in place ready for street improvement works to begin in Kirkwall.
Roads in central Stromness will be closed for periods of time next week to enable Orkney Islands Council to carry out flagstone repairs.
A funding scheme for local artists and craftspeople has reopened for a second round of applications.
A trust fund is inviting applications for support towards educational projects that benefit people in Orkney.
A Christmas tree collection service for households on the Orkney mainland within 30mph areas will take place in early February.
Amended plans for a potential Council-owned wind farm in Hoy have been presented to the local community this week.
A grant scheme run by Orkney Islands Council aimed at helping community groups tackle isolation and improve connectivity through transport closes for applications on 1 February.
The New Year community learning guide is now available.
Orkney Islands Council has agreed to proceed with plans to demolish the former Papdale Halls of Residence in Kirkwall in order to clear the site for potential development.
Passengers from one of Europe's most prestigious cruise lines have rated Kirkwall as their top Northern Europe and Scandinavian European cruise destination.
A public consultation drop-in session is due to be held in Hoy early in the new year to update the community on plans for a wind farm on the island.
