Highlands

Councillors have approved plans for a demonstration floating wind farm off the coast of Caithness near Thurso. A Swedish firm has sought permission from Highland Council, Orkney Islands Council and the Scottish Government for the demonstration project.

Image courtesy of the Mallaig Harbour Authority Plans have been published for a £90 million expansion to Mallaig Harbour on the west coast of Scotland.

George Fraser, chief executive of Tulloch Homes outside a development in Inverness Tulloch Homes has unveiled a £250 million vision to build 800 new homes in Inverness on land near the West Link road project.

Plans have been approved to build a luxury guest house in the grounds of the Queen Mother’s former home, the Castle of Mey in Caithness. The old granary building, situated six miles west of John o' Groats, is to be converted to accommodate 10 en suite guest rooms close to the castle.

Developers of a new £1.5m neighbourhood retail complex in Conon Bridge have confirmed building work is now complete. West Coast Estates, the Aberdeen-based property and investment firm behind the Braes of Conon Shopping, said the one-acre site, which includes Co-op Food and two retail units, will c

Kirkwood Homes managing director Colin Crombie (left) and Graham Fiddes BOS relationship manager in front of a Kirkwood site Aberdeen-based housebuilder Kirkwood Homes has announced plans to acquire six new sites in 2017 as it expands its operations to Inverness and Dundee.

A Highland developer in the self-build home sector has gone into administration with the loss of 17 jobs. Inverness-based Roy Homes Ltd, and its sister company Roy Homes Timber Frame Ltd, ceased trading this week amid “serious cash flow problems”.

Wick Community Campus (pic from Ryder Architecture) A much-delayed £48.5 million school campus in the Highlands has finally been handed over to the local authority.

Energy firm SSE has lost a court battle over a £130 million damages claim following the collapse of a tunnel at its Glendoe hydro scheme. It took legal action against engineering contractor Hochtief which carried out tunnelling work at the site near Fort Augustus.

Wick Community Campus (pic from Ryder Architecture) A new £48.5 million community campus project in the Highlands has been further delayed.

Plans have been submitted to Highland Council for the new Justice Centre in Inverness. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) intends to build the new centre a site between Longman Road and Burnett Road, following a pre-planning application and public exhibition held in August.

Plans to build an £800 million hydro power station in the Highlands have stalled over uncertainty over the financial viability of pumped hydro projects. Energy firm SSE won approval for the Coire Glas plant at Loch Lochy, north of Fort William, in 2013.

Transport infrastructure and a new hospital have been named by members of Highland Council’s Lochaber Committee among a set of strategic priorities to improve the health and wellbeing of local people. The priorities are listed under a number of headings that also include marine infrastructure and

Inverness Castle The regeneration of Inverness Castle and the development of a Northern Innovation Hub are among the projects to have submitted business cases as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.

Fish farming company Marine Harvest has submitted a planning application with Highland Council for an £80 million fish feed factory on Skye. The development on the site of an old quarry at Kyleakin could create 55 full-time permanent jobs.