Weekly Update, 4th June

Energy:
I accompanied Stuart Black, Director of Planning & Development, Highland Council, to a meeting with Wick Harbour Authority to discuss the organisation’s ongoing plans for the port. We discussed a range of issues relating to potential future business at Wick, and looked at ways in which help might be offered to realise some of the specific plans.

Tourism:
The Olympic flame’s arrival in Caithness tomorrow (Sunday 10th) will be marked by events in and around John O’Groats. The annual Vintage Car rally will be held during the afternoon, with the Olympic event starting afterwards, at about 4.30pm. The Olympic torch will arrive around 5.30pm, brought north following the main Olympic relay event in Inverness today, at which two Caithness members of the Highland Youth Parliament will be torch bearers on separate legs in the city.  http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/Olympic-torch-bearers-Louis-Mackinnon-and-Andrew-Sinclair-get-set-to-shine-07062012.htm

Communications:
As part of an ongoing process of helping communicate progress with the delivery of aspects of our economic transition programme CNSRP’s partners work together to generate news stories for local, regional and national media. I also speak on a regular basis to individuals and organisations across the area to update on progress. This week:

• Stuart Black and I met Alastair MacDonald, one of the senior management team seconded into Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd from new parent body organisation the Babcock Dounreay Partnership. This was a very positive discussion in the early months of the new decommissioning contract. We focused on economic and socio-economic elements, agreeing areas where we felt further joint working would be useful.
• The new issue of Dounreay News, to which I contribute monthly stories relating to the work of CNSRP partners, was published this week. It carries the Partnership press release on the launch of the Invest Caithness Renewables Services Directory at All-Energy last month. http://www.dounreay.com/UserFiles/File/Dounreay%20News/June_2012.pdf
• I have submitted an article to the forthcoming energy supplement of the Scottish Provincial Press, which is issued with local papers from Caithness to Moray. With contributions from CNSRP partners I focused on the idea that our area is “the right place, the right time, with the right people”