The Happy Haddock premises boarded up following the fire.

The Happy Haddock chip shop in Kirkwall was extensively damaged by fire in the early hours of this morning.

Two appliances from the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service in Kirkwall were called out at 2.30am.

Fourteen firefighters used two jets and four breathing apparatus to tackle the blaze, which left the property with 70 per cent internal damage.

The fire teams extinguished the fire and left the scene at 4.40am.

NHS Orkney announced on Thursday that the National Appeals Panel of the Scottish health Service has upheld the appeal by Norsepharm Ltd to open a pharmacy at Vetquoy Road, Dounby.

The decision reverses the position taken earlier this year by the Orkney Pharmacy Practices Committee.

The panel took the view that the provision of new pharmaceutical services was necessary to ensure adequate provision of services in the neighbourhood.

NHS Orkney is now negotiating a contract with Norsepharm Ltd and the pharmacy is expected to open in the next few months

The panel drew attention to the transport difficulties which elderly people and those with young children experience in winter travelling to a pharmacy. They also noted the need for a comprehensive pharmaceutical care service for older people, and in particular to the nearby care home.

Director of Pharmacy Chris Nicolson said: “We have received the decision and we now have to move forward. With an increasing number of patients on complex medicines, the need for developing pharmaceutical care has never been greater. The National Appeals Panel drew attention to this and it is important that we all work together to ensure that this new pharmacy delivers this important function.”

Clark Thomson's Coventrie House in Kirkwall.

A converted store in Kirkwall and a modern rural house with spectacular views of Shetland’s Bay of Skellister have been named the winners of the Inverness Architectural Association (IAA) Design Awards for Orkney and Shetland.

Kirkwall-based chartered architect Leslie Burgher won the ‘new life for old’ category for converting a late 19th century store into an office building for Clark Thomson Insurance Brokers.

Redman + Sutherland Architects, based in Scalloway, won the ‘new build’ category for the design of Grunnabreck, a home based on the exact dimensions of the Viking longhouses unearthed at Jarlshoff.