Proposals to turn a field into a community garden in Finstown were backed by councillors this week.

The plans were put forward by Firth and Sunnybrae Community Council who want to create the garden and recreational area in a field which runs through Finstown between the church, Ayre Cottage, Breckan Farm and the church manse.

The community council hope to landscape the area, create play areas and plant trees and shrubs as well as native flowers.

A report before Tuesday's planning committee said that this type of project was to be encouraged "and should provide a welcome recreational space within the heart of the village."

Orkney's social work director, Mr Harry Garland, was praised this week for a projected underspend in the department's budget this year.

Following a cash crisis within the social work department last year, Mr Garland outlined scathing cutbacks to bring the budget back into line.

Chairman of the social work and housing meeting Councillor Keith Johnson explained that the community social services expenditure for 2000-2001 had originally been estimated at £6,549,000.

"The probable expenditure is now £6,435,000 for 2000-2001, that comes in at £100,000 less. I want to congratulate the director and all the staff for achieving that and also for being able to improve the service," he said.

The subsidy paid to Orkney Ferries is set to rise by 5.6 per cent in the coming year, councillors will hear on Monday.

The increase will see the subsidy payment rise by £203,000 from £3.656 million to £3.859 million.

The OIC are considering the purchase of Duncan's Boatyard in Burray, if they can find a private sector operator to manage it for them.

The council's economic development committee recommended that the current owners advertise the premises for sale in the first instance to gauge interest.

But if they get no response, the council might consider buying the boatyard to continue to have such a repair facility for small boats available in the county.

The cost of upgrading Stromness harbour to handle the new Aberdeen-Orkney ferry will be more than the cost of a new terminal at Crowness, Kirkwall.

This is according to a report going before councillors at Monday's transportation committee.

The estimated cost given for upgrading Stromness, says the report, is £11.4 million - approximately £5.1 million for dredging and £6.3 million for pier and harbour works. This compares to the £10.5 million estimated cost of a new terminal at Crowness.

Councillor Hugh Halcro-Johnston, has called on the whole of Orkney to get behind plans for a new ferry terminal at Hatston, warning that a divide in the community could jeopardise the project.

Speaking during a debate on the terminal at Monday evening's Kirkwall Community Council meeting, he urged members to wait for technical information on the terminal, which is due to be presented to next week's OIC transportation committee meeting, before lobbying Scottish Transport Minister Sarah Boyack on the issue.

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A controversial decision taken at this week's planning committee was described as an absolute farce with even the chairman admitting that it made her cringe.

Councillors at Tuesday's meeting recommended that a new housing area should be developed in Rendall, despite official recommendations to the contrary and major concerns by Scottish Natural Heritage.

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The Ba' Plaque

Kirkwall Community Council are to invite Historic Scotland's Orkney Buildings Inspector to a meeting, to outline the merits of allowing the commemorative Ba' Plaque to be placed on the St Magnus Cathedral kirkyard wall.

The community council unanimously agreed this week that an on-site meeting with Historic Scotland would be the best way to settle the long-running dispute.

Tourists should find it easier to make their way around Kirkwall in the future if a project to place signposts throughout the town goes ahead.

The project was backed in principle by councillors at Tuesday's planning committee.

Before it can go ahead, a consultation is to be carried out with various parties, including Kirkwall Community Council, relating to the design, location and upkeep of the signs.

The costs of the project are estimated at £7,500 and a report is due to come back to a future meeting.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have started an amnesty for people who have found items off shipwrecks around the UK coastline, but who have not yet reported them to the Receiver of Wreck.

The agency stress that it is illegal to keep something, however small or seemingly insignificant, from a shipwreck without advising the Receiver of Wreck.

The amnesty, whereby no penalty will occur for previously unreported finds, continues until April 24, 2001.

The number of crimes reported to the police and the number of people injured in road accidents fell in Orkney last year.

According to reports to come before the Northern Joint Police Board on Friday, 952 crimes and offences were reported to police in Orkney, of which 869 were detected - 75 per cent.

That compares to more than 1,000 crimes and offences in the same period in 1999 and a detection rate of 926, or 67 per cent.

In Orkney in 1999 there were four road fatalities, compared to none in the same period in 2000. The report also highlights five serious road accident casualties from April to December, 2000 and 22 slight casualties. In the same period in 1999 there were 21 serious and 36 slight road accident casualties.

A garage owner's plans to build a car park on top of a Kirkwall garden have been rejected by councillors following protests by local residents.

Mr Jim Corsie of Manse Road Motors had applied to build the car park on a garden at 1, Broadsands Road. He also wanted to convert a store building next to the garage into a MOT test centre.

Speaking at this week's planning committee meeting, councillor Roderick McLeod said that he found it abhorrent that a garden would be turned into a commercial car park.

Councillor Keith Johnson agreed, adding: "To allow a business to expand in this area is giving the wrong message from the council. We should try all avenues to try and move businesses such as these out of residential areas."

The current operators of Stronsay's second sub post office at Sunnybank - Dennis and Mavis Wild - are retiring and are currently trying to find anyone willing to take on the position.

A community council spokesman explained: "The community feel that it is an important facility for the island to have. An additional post office and a post box from where the mail is collected every morning."

If replacement operators are not found, the community council plan to readvertise the position. Failing that they plan on asking for a central post box to be emptied every morning with mail leaving the island the same day.

Eric Williams (46) appeared from custody at Wick Sheriff Court on Friday and admitted assaulting the boy, who was part of a group he believed were teasing him as went through dustbins.

The court heard that Williams had seized the boy and pulled him to the ground before sitting on top of him and forcing the youngster's mouth open with his fingers and striking him on the face.

Williams was further remanded in custody to allow social background and psychiatric reports to be compiled before he appears back in court for sentence on February 16.

Archive story: Vagrant arrested on assault charges

Kirkwall Community Council are to write to Scottish Transport Minister, Ms Sarah Boyack, supporting the plans for a new freight terminal at Crowness, counteracting views expressed by Stromness councillors and residents.

Community council chairman, Mr Spencer Rosie, told Monday's meeting: "I am concerned that the democratic process will be usurped again. I hope that a vocal minority will not scupper the Crowness project. We have always argued the need for a deep water facility at Hatston to take pressure off Kirkwall Pier. I believe the Crowness scheme will have an enormous long term benefit for the whole of Orkney."

OIC convener, Councillor Hugh Halcro-Johnston, expressed concern that Stromness councillors letter to Sarah Boyack opposing the need for a new terminal at Hatston could not only delay the project but also undermine grant assistance.

Councillor Halcro-Johnston said that he hoped both sides of Orkney would get behind what he regarded as a "very worthwhile project for everybody."

Appearing from custody on Monday at Kirkwall Sheriff Court, Carl James Howley, c/o SACRO, admitted breaking into Learmonth's TV premises at Hatston on Saturday and stealing a shop till and money.

Howley denied a further five charges between January 19 and the 21st of selling stolen goods, stealing a car CD player, breaking into Rainbow Taxis and breaking into William Jolly's.

Howley was charged with the first of these alleged offences on Friday - two days after he was released on bail from Kirkwall Sheriff Court for a catalogue of admitted crimes.

A trial date was set for March 20.

Archive story: 16-year-old remanded in custody

The school is to receive £500 to enable them to create a community directory for the island - detailing local services, shops, medical facilities, church and other community activities. It is hoped the booklet will be used by islanders who are out of touch with services and goods available in Sanday and by people who have recently moved to the island.

While working on the project, pupils will have the chance to develop their information technology, production and communication skills.

Archive Story: Sanday headteacher wins national award

The future funding of the Pickaquoy Centre could rise to £300,000 per annum following discussions by councillors on the recreation and cultural services committee on Monday.

Councillors heard that the special fund set up to fund the centre is not sufficient to sustain levels of support being requested by the Pickaquoy Centre Trust on an ongoing basis, and that a clear limit must be placed on the council’s financial involvement with the Trust.

They agreed to recommend a budget of £300,000 - against a recommendation of £288,000 - for the coming year adding that the finance and general purposes committee should discuss a mechanism for future funding of the Pickaquoy Centre, including the provision of a contingency fund.

The council's social work department failed to meet government standards last year relating to inspections of residential homes, according to a local government watchdog.

An Accounts Commission report shows that the OIC made an average of 1.5 inspections during the year - slightly less than the Scottish Executive standard of two per year.

The report also shows a lack of qualified staff in Orkney, saying that only 17 per cent of the 12 staff working at Orkney's residential children's home had social work, social care and other specified qualifications.

Commenting on their inspections of residential homes - a service contracted out to Highland Council - an OIC spokesman said that when the discrepancy was noticed, action was taken to redress it. He added that the lack of qualified social work staff was also being tackled.

A total of 112 incidents were dealt with by the Pentland Coastguard station last year before it closed in December.

Figures issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency show that Pentland co-ordinated the rescue of 44 people during the year, assisting a total number of 127. Three lives were lost.

Shetland and Aberdeen - who have now taken over Pentland's role - dealt with more incidents over the year; a total of 152 in Shetland where 66 people were rescued and 359 assisted while Aberdeen had 865 incidents and also co-ordinated the rescue of 378 people.

Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries have finalised an agreement with Finnish shipbuilders Aker Finnyards for construction of the vessel to operate on the Pentland Firth route when they take over from P&O Scottish Ferries.

The 110-metre ro-ro ship will be one of a trio of Northlink vessels built at the Rauma yard following Friday’s deal. It was originally to have been built at the Ferguson yard at Port Glasgow but that deal fell through. The other two vessels, both 125 metres, will operate between Aberdeen, Shetland and Orkney.

Northlink were awarded the contract to operate the Orkney and Shetland services by the Scottish Executive in December and are due to take over operation from October 2002.

Farming industry leaders in Orkney hope to meet with representatives from the Veterinary Division of the Scottish Agricultural College this week to discuss the proposed closure of their vet centre in Thurso.

Following the SAC’s shock announcement earlier in the week that the Thurso vet lab was to close in July, Orkney NFU contacted the head of the vet division to clarify the situation and how the islands would be covered in future. The NFU now want a face-to-face meeting with SAC management to get the latest information on, and to correct any misinformation about the financial position facing the college which has prompted the closure.

The Orkney branch of the union believe that the Thurso vet lab should be retained for post-mortems on farm animals from Orkney and for processing the blood samples relating to local animal health schemes, such as the recently approved Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) testing programme.