URGENT - CHRISTMAS-MINDED VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

*** We urgently need some more volunteers to erect our Christmas Tree in Cathedral Square and lights in Rosemarkie and Fortrose.

If you think you can help some time on the weekend of 8th/9th December, please email us asap at fortroseandrosemarkie@gmail.com

*** If you can help out on the night of our community Carols in the Cathedral at 6.30pm (for about an hour) on Sunday, 24th December - Christmas Eve - please let us know. 

Thank you to the volunteers who came to help do a bit of light weeding and general tidying up at the Platinum Jubliee community wildlife hedge in Fortrose on Sunday morning.  The saplings - hawthorn, dog rose, sea buckthorn, blackthorn, hazel and beech - are all doing extremely well.

The Platinum Jubilee Community Hedge is a year old this month and is looking great!  

Come along on SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 11am-1pm for a celebratory tidy up/weeding session.  Meet at the Leisure Centre car park.  

It's a chance to do your bit for wildlife and the environment, get some fresh air and light exercise, and meet new people.

Please dress for the weather, wear sensible shoes/boots and bring gloves (and maybe shears to cut back grass if you have some?).

See you on SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER.

The Community Council is keen to hear your views about the bus service in Rosemarkie and Fortrose.

Our Ward Councillors meet the operators and can feed back comments on the FRCC's behalf.  Please email us with your thoughts and invite your friends and neighbours to get in touch with their views too.

Eilean Dubh Home Care is expanding its business to cover Cromarty, Avoch, Fortrose, Rosemarkie and Munlochy due to a criticial need for home carers.

The family-run home care business is looking to recruit FULL and PART-TIME CARERS in our area.   Pay up to £15 per hour.

For more details, or to apply, contact

audrey@edhomecare.co.uk  tel: 07859 795029

From Highland Council website  - 3 October 2023

Notice of Uncontested Election - Election of Community Councillors for Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council

Notice is hereby given that following the Community Council Election, the undernoted members are duly elected with effect from Wednesday 11 October 2023.

Number of vacancies 9

Vacancies remaining 3

Candidates Names:

Bob Latimer

Anne Phillips

Jo-Anne Pugh

Theo Stratton

Lucy Vaughan

Kerry Ward

The Community Council is keen to hear residents' views on a report compiled on "overtourism".  It was written by Robin Pettigrew of Lochcarron and submitted as evidence to the Scottish Government's consultation on a proposed "Visitor Levy" on overnight short-stay accommodation.

You can read the report "Tourism, but not at any price - Combatting overtourism in Scotland" here.

While recognising that the economic benefits of tourism to Scotland are huge, the report highlights the increased number of visitors to rural areas and the massive environmental impact that this has had.   It proposes a "vehicle levy" rather than an accommodation charge to capture visitors in motorhomes, campervans and caravans and those who choose to "wild camp".  The income generated would be used to support tourist infrastructure, such as camp sites, toilets and waste disposal facilities. 

The report also calls for an education campaign, and for reform of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and Right to Roam legislation, which allows for the right to camp wild overnight.

We are keen to hear your views.  For example, do you agree with the assessment that increased tourism has led to problems here?  If so, what do you think of the report's suggestions to mitigate this?   What are your thoughts on income generation to support better facilities?   Are the ideas contained in the report practical?

You can email your response to fortroseandrosemarkie@gmail.com

OR comment via our Facebook page.

Come and join our beach clean/litter survey on Saturday 16 September.  

Meet at 0900 at Rosemarkie Beach Cafe. Litter pickers and bags provided.  

If you can spare an hour, you'll get to meet new people and help to improve our beach for people and local wildlife.

Nominations are now open for residents (over 16) who would like to become COMMUNITY COUNCILLORS.

This is your chance to help represent the views of your community to The Highland Council and other government organisations and public bodies.  It's a voluntary and unpaid job but vital in terms of local democracy: by law, the Highland Council has to consult with Community Councils on planning and licensing applications.

Community Councils also work to make their local areas better places to live. They can help lobby for traffic and parking improvements, organise and run community-building events and initiate schemes to improve the local environment and support wildlife.   Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council does all of these things - and is ready for new councillors with new ideas to contribute.  We have nine places on our Community Council and must fill five for the council to function.

The link for The Highland Council page with all relevant details about the role and how to apply can be found here.

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 12 NOON ON TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER 2023.