From the early beginnings of web sites, Nethy Bridge was at the forefront of this new technology.

An initiative was set up by the Community Council and the Nethy Bridge Tourist Association (NBTA) took up the idea of developing, running and funding the community based web site.

This also gave tourist accommodation providers in the area the ability to advertise their properties to a world wide audience.

Instigated and developed by Keith Bateman - an ex-computer programmer and ski school director living in the village, the site was designed and quickly developed to include other sections where people could advertise special events they were organising, or where people could leave messages.

Another huge section is the history section where it is hoped people can add their memories and knowledge to build up a data base of information for the area.

After a couple of re-designs over the years, the site is as it is seen here.

The local NBTA committee, being largely involved in tourism and having little spare time to oversee the more detailed changes which the site required, decided, in 2003 to hand the hosting and day to day updates over to a web design team based in Sydney, Australia, called CTC Web Design – and here we come full circle, this company is run by the same Keith Bateman who set the web site up in the early days!

Now the site is becoming increasingly more automatic so that the members of NBTA can do a lot of the updating for themselves. They can add their last minute vacancies – with price reductions if they want that, they can place notifications of forthcoming events, or update the availability of their property. Even the community Council can place their minutes online themselves, so that viewers can see what they have been discussing. More impressive still, these entries automatically drop off when their dates pass, to keep the site current and to the point.

More self-updating is envisaged for the future when funds allow.

The award (see our submission here)

Over the years we have tried to keep ahead of the game, and it is therefore very rewarding indeed to receive an award from the Moray Action for Communities Group (MACG). At a ceremony in Elgin, on Thursday 11th May 2006, the Nethy Bridge community web site, www.nethybridge.com won the first prize for the best community web site in the area.

The MACG said that their “specific objective was to celebrate and acknowledge the high level of strategic thinking that has been attained by local groups in the creation of community web sites and to encourage groups to achieve even higher standards in the future”

The panel of judges said we easily beat of all other entries:

”A fantastic site and a bench mark for all others. Very professional, sharp, slick, easy to navigate and great for tourists. We like the newsletters in their original format and the toolbar at the top left of the title, making it so easy if anyone wanted to print this out. An excellent website packed full of information for locals and visitors alike. Easy on the eye and clear to read. We liked the virtual tour map. There was no hesitation in making this site the winner: it stood out from all the others.”