Call for volunteers to support beach wheelchair project at Dunnet
Volunteers are being sought for a community project aimed at giving wheelchair users better access to one of the most popular beaches in the north.
An open meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening to help Caithness Disabled Access Panel (CDAP) get the Dunnet Beach Wheelchair Project under way.
It takes place at the village’s Britannia Hall, starting at 7.30pm, and all are welcome.
CDAP announced: “We are looking for volunteers to assist with the running of the project throughout the summer months and beyond – no large commitment but providing a valuable service to those with mobility issues.”
It comes seven months after an event at Dunnet showing how beneficial a beach wheelchair scheme can be, making use of a buggy wheelchair with blow-up tyres. At the same time, access issues were highlighted with a view to bringing about path improvements.

CDAP chairperson Helen Budge is appealing for volunteers to come forward at the meeting on April 9. She explained that the project is intended to benefit visitors to the area as well as local disabled people.
“We need people from the Dunnet area to come along to the meeting to support this and hopefully help the project when it opens,” she said. “Please help the disabled access panel get this up and running in Caithness.”
Mrs Budge added that disabled people and their carers had expressed an interest in having the project in place during the winter months as well as summer.
The event last September was organised by CDAP in partnership with Shopmobility Highland.
An 81-year-old man with Parkinson's disease was able to enjoy a trip along the beach for the first time in 17 years thanks to the buggy wheelchair.
Angela Sinclair, a Key Housing enhanced support worker, was there with a service user who hadn’t been on a beach for years.
“It’s absolutely amazing to see,” Ms Sinclair said at the time. “This is a great thing for the community.”