Poolewe Pool closed and UHI centralisation fears

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🏊 Sadly, the Poolewe Swimming pool has been closed since Wednesday March 19 due to a technical fault. Keep an eye on the pool Facebook page for updates. Prior to the closure, Gairloch Community Council were advised of a £20k funding bid to renew key equipment at the pool.

☕ In better news, more local places have confirmed their opening hours for the new season. Coast Coffee at Gairloch Harbour have announced they'll be open Monday to Friday, 10.30 - 3.30pm from March 24.

⚫ The Black Pearl has confirmed it's opening hours from March - May.

🥤A new coffee van has also begun trading "mostly around Loch Maree." You can find out more about North Roast Coffee here.

🍛 There's a curry night planned at the Lochewe Community Church, Aultbea, on April 3 at 6pm. Cash raised will support local young people to go to summer youth camps.

📸 Are you looking for ways to entertain the bairns over Easter? There's a smartphone photo walk planned in Flowerdale Glen on April 9, and on April 14, the Slattadale project are planning a free Monster hunting trip. You can also search the entire High Life Highland Easter 2025 programme here.

🏹 Archery sessions at the Gairloch Leisure Centre have a new time. They now run weekly on Saturdays at 14:30.

🍰 Cake and other good things are available on Friday 28 March at the Gairloch Primary School open morning. More in the flyer below.

🎸 Tickets for the West Coast Arts organised Anna Massie gig on May 25 can be bought online. Meanwhile, half the tickets have already been sold for the Duncan Chisholm and Hamish Napier gig on June 13.

📚 Ullapool bookshop have announced their first book event of the year. On April 12 at 5pm, Aultbea-based Author Andy Goss will join fellow writer John McLellan to discuss why they find North West Scotland so inspring. The event is free but you must book in advance. Call 01854-612918 or email [email protected]

🚮 Extreme Beach Cleaning Loch Ewe now have their own website, where they explain a bit about what they do. Here's the link.

⚡ Highland People's Power are advertising for a part-time Community Energy Officer to help them develop the project. The job ad is on Facebook.

🎓 Students, their parents, local voluntary groups and staff are being invited by the University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) to comment on a proposal that could see UHI North, West and Hebrides (which serves Wester Ross) more tightly integrated with five other colleges in the Highlands. UHI is a "network" of colleges and specialist education or research institutions - and not all of them are participating in this "transformation" process. Already this has been reported as a "split" among UHI partners and a Hebrides MSP has voiced concerns over the risk of over-centralisation in Inverness. The consultation runs until May 2.

🐟 Industry body, Scottish Salmon, has broken down production figures by region. Exports of Scottish salmon from the north west Highlands rose to £262 million, a 44% increase on the prior year, it said in a press release. Meanwhile, salmon farming firms have been accused of "sabotaging" new environmental rules on sea lice by filing hundreds of appeals to the regulator.

🚑 Local MP Angus MacDonald will join a group of cross-party politicians in April who will personally deliver ambulances and medical supplies to Ukraine, highlighting the urgent need for aid as the conflict with Russia continues. More in the Ross-shire Journal.

🚗 P&J journalist Alberto Lejarraga has been on their own road trip gathering views about the NC500. Feedback is mixed but you might recognise some of the people they spoke to.

💰 Highland Councillors will receive a 21% pay increase, adding approximately £500,000 to the local authority wage bill. More in the Inverness Courier.

👮 Expect to see police officers in the Highlands and Islands with body-worn video cameras this summer. According to the press release they can: "significantly enhance public confidence and support officer and public safety by providing effective and transparent evidence of police and public interactions."

🌓 And did you know there's going to be a partial solar eclipse on the morning of March 29? If there's no cloud, here's some useful instructions on how to view it.

Some local community councils have recently written to Maree Todd MSP to raise concerns over local dental services. You can read more about this in the next issue of the Gairloch and District Times. But we also want to hear about your experience.

Quick poll: Are you registered with an NHS dentist?