Orkney Builders (Contractors) Ltd has been awarded the contract to build the new nursery at Orkney College with a successful bid of £2.65 million.

The 14-month project will see a new build nursery located next to the College campus. The location lends itself well to opportunities to support Childhood Practice Students as they develop their skills, therefore supporting a key sector which has had recruitment challenges.

SEPA have extended their flood warning for Orkney for tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

The areas now at risk include St Margaret’s Hope, Burray and Ayre of Cara, Stromness, Westray (Pierowall), Hoy and Longhope, and Sanday.

SEPA have now issued a flood warning for St Margaret’s Hope, Burray and Stromness for Wednesday (22 March).

Due to the forecasted high tide and surge, the Council will be deploying the flood defences in St Margaret’s Hope this afternoon (Tuesday 21 March).

Shapinsay residents are reminded wheelie bin collections start on Wednesday, 22 March, and that the temporary recycling bank borrowed from Ness campsite is heading back there on 27 March.

Experts from around the world are gathering in Orkney this weekend for the third, and final, Scotland’s Island Research Framework for Archaeology (SIRFA) symposium.

The event runs from Friday, March 24, until Monday, March 27, and brings together a wide range of archaeologists and heritage-sector stakeholders to agree on gaps in knowledge and understanding of Orkney’s past.