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Scott Maclennan


Political Reporter

Scott MacLennan is the political reporter for all the Highland titles at Highland News and Media. The Scottish Press Awards named him Weekly Journalist of the Year in 2024 for his coverage of the A9 dualling, 999 failings and pupil safety at a north school. He joined the company in 2019. Scott went to university in Glasgow and Moscow and reports on the Highland Council, NHS Highland and the Scottish Parliament

Scott Maclennan

Highland Council rejects Scottish Government plans to cut speed limit for cars but backs increasing it for HGVs

10 February 2025
Highland Council rejects Scottish Government plans to cut speed limit for cars but backs increasing it for HGVs

Highland Council rejects Scottish Government plans to cut speed limit for cars but backs increasing it for HGVs

10 February 2025

The response cites ‘significant length of national speed limit road network and remoteness’ of the area.


Scottish Parliament told Highland Council ‘botched’ a child protection probe at north school

06 February 2025
Scottish Parliament told Highland Council ‘botched’ a child protection probe at north school

Scottish Parliament told Highland Council ‘botched’ a child protection probe at north school

06 February 2025

A petitions committee hearing accepted calls for an inquiry into how public bodies ‘mishandle’ such concerns.


Highland Council completes multimillion pound purchase of D&E Coaches marking a new era for public transport in the region

04 February 2025
Highland Council completes multimillion pound purchase of D&E Coaches marking a new era for public transport in the region

Highland Council completes multimillion pound purchase of D&E Coaches marking a new era for public transport in the region

04 February 2025

The deal will retain all staff and aims to save millions on school contracts with the company being run as a going concern.


Auditors warning over Highland Council in-house bus service

04 February 2025
Auditors warning over Highland Council in-house bus service

Auditors warning over Highland Council in-house bus service

04 February 2025

Officials miss deadline to show it will ‘deliver the intended performance and outcomes’.


New Inverness music festival plans at the Northern Meeting Park tabled

03 February 2025
New Inverness music festival plans at the Northern Meeting Park tabled

New Inverness music festival plans at the Northern Meeting Park tabled

03 February 2025

The move ‘an exciting opportunity for something new in the Highlands’ but is subject to funding.


SSE’s Great Glen ‘hydro cascade’ continues with Loch Fearna pumped storage hydro scheme

02 February 2025
SSE’s Great Glen ‘hydro cascade’ continues with Loch Fearna pumped storage hydro scheme

SSE’s Great Glen ‘hydro cascade’ continues with Loch Fearna pumped storage hydro scheme

02 February 2025

The project aims to build two dams to hold 40 million cubic litres of water with a move forward on planning application.


Police launch appeal to trace 55-year-old Dawn Robinson reported missing in Inverness

02 February 2025
Police launch appeal to trace 55-year-old Dawn Robinson reported missing in Inverness

Police launch appeal to trace 55-year-old Dawn Robinson reported missing in Inverness

02 February 2025

She was last seen around 8.25am on Saturday February 1 in the Academy Street area of the city.


Alness company Pat Munro Ltd plans quarry for Farr just south of Inverness

02 February 2025
Alness company Pat Munro Ltd plans quarry for Farr just south of Inverness

Alness company Pat Munro Ltd plans quarry for Farr just south of Inverness

02 February 2025

The business hopes to extract 50,000 tonnes of sand and gravel a year over a 15 year period.


Highland Council agrees 8% rent hike amid tenants concerns about ‘affordability’

29 January 2025
Highland Council agrees 8% rent hike amid tenants concerns about ‘affordability’

Highland Council agrees 8% rent hike amid tenants concerns about ‘affordability’

29 January 2025

The ‘significant burden’ of loan charges consumes 43% of the budget while 31% goes on repairs and maintenance.


NHS Highland PR boss joins Highland Council’s £1.7 million management team

29 January 2025
NHS Highland PR boss joins Highland Council’s £1.7 million management team

NHS Highland PR boss joins Highland Council’s £1.7 million management team

29 January 2025

Ruth Fry takes up £109k chief officer job while Paul Reid takes on fleet and facilities


Giving blood at Dingwall Leisure Centre was totally easy and painless, says reporter Scott MacLennan

28 January 2025
Giving blood at Dingwall Leisure Centre was totally easy and painless, says reporter Scott MacLennan

Giving blood at Dingwall Leisure Centre was totally easy and painless, says reporter Scott MacLennan

28 January 2025

He says ‘there were zero unpleasant side effects beyond, perhaps, my evening whisky carrying a little more potency than normal’.


Tenants’ Union backs for Highland Council visitor levy but demands some cash is spent on housing crisis

28 January 2025
Tenants’ Union backs for Highland Council visitor levy but demands some cash is spent on housing crisis

Tenants’ Union backs for Highland Council visitor levy but demands some cash is spent on housing crisis

28 January 2025

The group Living Rent says ‘addressing housing inequality takes priority over expanding an already booming tourist sector’.


Visitor levy spat sees Lib Dem Andrew Baxter tell unnamed SNP councillor to ‘go back to school’

28 January 2025
Visitor levy spat sees Lib Dem Andrew Baxter tell unnamed SNP councillor to ‘go back to school’

Visitor levy spat sees Lib Dem Andrew Baxter tell unnamed SNP councillor to ‘go back to school’

28 January 2025

It comes amid misinformation claims that the law compels its introduction when it does not.


Britannia parking’s debt collectors demand £170 from pensioner who never received a ticket

28 January 2025
Britannia parking’s debt collectors demand £170 from pensioner who never received a ticket

Britannia parking’s debt collectors demand £170 from pensioner who never received a ticket

28 January 2025

The ‘cowboy style’ operation was slammed by Dingwall Councillor Sean Kennedy who was also stung when the machines were out of order.


Cromarty Firth councillor Sinclair Coghill joins Highland Alliance group

27 January 2025
Cromarty Firth councillor Sinclair Coghill joins Highland Alliance group

Cromarty Firth councillor Sinclair Coghill joins Highland Alliance group

27 January 2025

He says the move is a bid for ‘a platform where I can better represent and raise the concerns of the constituents’.


Double digit rise in sex crimes and anti-social behaviour reported by Highland cops

27 January 2025
Double digit rise in sex crimes and anti-social behaviour reported by Highland cops

Double digit rise in sex crimes and anti-social behaviour reported by Highland cops

27 January 2025

The rises of 19 per cent and 28 per cent come after Chief Superintendent Rob Shepherd warned “something has to give”.


Police Scotland reports 18 Highland drug deaths amid rise in dealing offences

26 January 2025
Police Scotland reports 18 Highland drug deaths amid rise in dealing offences

Police Scotland reports 18 Highland drug deaths amid rise in dealing offences

26 January 2025

Chief Superintendent Robert Shepherd says the numbers are of ‘significant concern’


Highland Council to invest millions to secure more than 20 burial sites

26 January 2025
Highland Council to invest millions to secure more than 20 burial sites

Highland Council to invest millions to secure more than 20 burial sites

26 January 2025

The move will see almost all areas of the region receive new or expanded sites.


Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from Liverpool behind 2023 violence

26 January 2025
Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from Liverpool behind 2023 violence

Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from Liverpool behind 2023 violence

26 January 2025

Key to the approach is working the Merseyside officers to tackle those dealing in the north.


Delayed discharge saw NHS Highland patient stuck in hospital for over four years

26 January 2025
Delayed discharge saw NHS Highland patient stuck in hospital for over four years

Delayed discharge saw NHS Highland patient stuck in hospital for over four years

26 January 2025

It is considered one of the worst examples in Scotland of a patient fit to go home but cannot because of a lack of care.


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