St Magnus Cathedral – our medieval marvel – has been named as one of Europe’s top 100 Cathedrals by a best-selling author and respected church historian.

Part of Victoria Street remains closed to vehicles, with Main Street also closing from Tuesday 26 October for around a week.

Plans for two “meritorious” community projects in Birsay and North Ronaldsay moved a step forward last week.

At Thursday’s meeting of the Community Development Fund sub-committee (21 October), Councillors agreed to submit funding applications on behalf of the Birsay Heritage Trust and North Ronaldsay Trust to the second stage of the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund.

The Council is appealing for registered private landlords who hold family accommodation which would be suitable for Afghan families, to come forward.

Councillors recently gave their support to assisting Afghan households if at all possible, and agreed to approve seeking two private rental sector properties as part of the UK-wide resettlement programme.

Orkney Islands Council has welcomed news HIAL and the Prospect workers union have established a ‘mutually agreeable approach for the modernisation of air traffic services at HIAL’s airports’, with Prospect agreeing to suspend all industrial action from 12.00 today, Monday 25 October 2021, while talks on the implementation of HIAL’s Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) continue.

Orkney Islands Council’s Political Leader, James Stockan, has been shortlisted as ‘Leader of the Year’ in a national councillor awards scheme.

Flagstone repairs are due to be carried out in Stromness over the coming months, starting on Monday 25 October through to mid-March 2022, with a suspension during the Christmas period.

These works, which are being carried out by BDS Surfacing Ltd on behalf of the Council, will cover sections of John Street, Victoria Street, Graham Place, Dundas Street, Alfred Street, South End and Ness Road. This will lead to sections of the street being closed at times - these will be signposted and kept to an absolute minimum.

An event to enable employers to learn more about how they can support young people in achieving a successful future is being held in Kirkwall.

The Young Person’s Guarantee Marketplace will be a chance for employers to learn about some of the support that is available locally to help them create opportunities in their business for young people.  A range of providers and support agencies will be on hand to provide information and support and answer any questions employers may have.

The drop in temperatures has reminded us that winter is on the way and in preparation the Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordinating Group (OLECG) has met to ensure partners are winter ready.

The group involves representatives from a broad range of organisations, including the emergency and public services, transport providers, the utilities and voluntary sector, and they gathered together virtually on Wednesday (20 October) to discuss winter readiness and ensure resilience plans are in order.

What are your climate action priorities?

If you are aged between 11-26, then you are being invited to join the Scottish Youth Climate Summit on Saturday 30 October to connect with other young folk, to learn from experts and create Scotland’s Youth Climate Declaration in advance of COP26.