Rural services

Restoration work on a crumbling disused building once hidden away in the middle of a forest on Scotland’s west coast has reached the stage of the building now “starting to resemble a bothy, minus the roof”.

There is still time to take part in a Scottish Government (SG) consultation on the proposed implementation of charging for single-use disposable beverage cups in Scotland, with responses accepted up until the closing date of Thursday 14 November 2024.

The Countryside Trust has announced an invitation to tender for a ‘Rainforest bryophytes survey and assessment’, which will support the first delivery phase of Wild Strathfillan nature restoration project.

Funding has been awared through NatureScot’s Nature Restoration Fund for ‘Lochside to Mountain-top', the first delivery phase of Wild Strathfillan.  

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) have announced details of their annual Gathering event for 2025.

The event will take place on 4 and 5 February at the EICC in Edinburgh and will be Scotland's biggest celebration of the voluntary sector.

The Scottish Agritourism Conference 2024 will take place at Perth Concert Hall on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th November 2024.

The conference is an annual celebration of the agritourism sector, open to anyone with an interest in growing agritourism in Scotland including Scottish Agritourism members, farmers considering agritourism, economic development agencies, destination marketing organisations, local and national government representatives, suppliers to the sector and sector supporters.

MSPs have backed legislation giving councils a new power to introduce a visitor levy that would raise funding for local visitor facilities and services.

The availability and affordability of housing is a major issue across North Ayrshire and, in particular, within island communities. 

To help address the issue, North Ayrshire Council have launched a consultation about the proposed implementation of an additional council tax levy on second homes. 

Renewable energy developer, Galileo, and ALIenergy are giving Oban and Lorn communities the chance to take a financial stake in Corr Chnoc Wind Farm.

The Scottish Government has published the first estimate of Cereal and oilseed rape harvest for 2024.

Every year the National Centre for Resilience (NCR) release funding opportunities that help to support academics, practitioners and community organisations to build Scotland’s resilience to natural hazards.