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A couple of interesting pieces from the excellent Scottish Islands network

Broadband Funding Announcement:
The Scottish Executive has announced that it is to allocate £90 million to fund a project which will provide broadband connections for every school and public building in the Highlands and Islands. The Pathfinder Project is intended to ensure that rural areas have the same opportunities as urban locations to access modern technology. Work on the project will commence in 2006 and be spread over a 9 year period.

Announcement Due on Argyll Air Services:
The Scottish Executive is expected to make an announcement regarding funding for the proposed new Argyll Air Service, which will piece together a scheduled air service from Glasgow to Oban, Coll, Tiree and Colonsay, in the next few weeks. Agreement from Highlands and Islands Airports Limited to take over the running of Oban Airport is also awaited. It is believed that the new scheduled service will help to prevent further depopulation of the islands. It will cost in the region of £1 million a year to run the new hub airport at Oban. Capital funding of £4.8 million towards airstrip upgrades has already been secured from Argyll & Bute Council, Oban Common Good Fund, Argyll & the Islands Enterprise and the European Regional Development. The new service will commence next year.

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