Orkney Islands Council has awarded contracts for public bus and school transport services in the county for the next several years.

The multi-agency Orkney Local Emergency Co-ordination Group (OLECG) met this evening in response to the discovery of a grenade near the Orkney Research and Innovation Campus (ORIC) in Stromness.

The council is reminding drivers that the ‘first-hour free’ parking run by the Council over the winter ends on 30 April, when OIC carparks in central Kirkwall and Stromness revert to summer tariffs (from and including 1 May).

The Council is carrying out urgent repair works at Dingieshowe public toilets in Deerness after part of the facility was vandalised at the weekend.

Everyone is encouraged to vote in the Scottish Parliament election on 6 May – and this year folk are reminded that there will be some additional safety measures in place due to COVID-19 for those choosing to cast their vote in person.

Plans are progressing for an exciting development within the Papdale area of Kirkwall which could see an area of green space transformed into a community park for all ages and abilities.

One of the Council’s new tugs – Thor of Scapa – assisted in the smooth reinstallation of a tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre Fall of Warness test site this week.

Local electors are encouraged to return postal votes in plenty time for the Scottish Parliament election in May.

More than a third of the 17,668 people on the Electoral Register in Orkney have registered to vote by post – 6,098 in total (34.5%). The number of electors who’ve applied for a postal vote has gone up by 1,793 since December 2020.

With restrictions due to ease during May, Orkney’s Sport and Leisure Team have updated how this will impact on their activities and facilities in the county.

Orkney will continue to be in Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions until 16 May, and from the week commencing 17 May Orkney will enter Level 2.

After a careful review of Scottish Government, sportscotland and Governing Bodies of Sport guidance, as well as current facility usage figures, the following facilities and activities will continue to be affected:

The Council’s Environmental Health team have been dealing with a boom in food business – with the number of new catering start-ups almost trebling during the COVID-19 lockdown year.