Missing out? Council in Nairn raises concerns town might lose out at expense of Cromarty Firth freeport investment
REPRESENTATIVES of a community council have voiced concerns that Nairn could miss out on developments following the green freeport status announcement for the Cromarty Firth and Inverness.
At a meeting last week, Nairn West & Suburban Community Council (NWSCC) representatives raised concerns to councillors and members of the public about potential setbacks to Nairn and Nairnshire coming from the recent award of freeport status to Opportunity Cromarty Firth.
Among the issues raised by the community council are environmental concerns as well as Nairn “missing out” even more on available funding and potential disruption of public services.
“This new initiative presents some new challenges,” said secretary, Brian Stewart, speaking on behalf of NWSCC. “The decision is likely to be a game-changer for the Inner Moray Firth region. It will bring some major threats and challenges. It will also, we hope, bring opportunities. Nairn community organisations and businesses are going to need to do some quick and radical thinking about how to react.”
A green freeport is a large, zoned area within a defined boundary where operators and businesses can benefit from a package of tax and other incentives through a combination of devolved and reserved levers.
The proposed green freeport tax sites put forward as part of the Opportunity Cromarty Firth bid are spread over three main areas: Invergordon, Nigg and Inverness. The overall ambition is to make OCF a strategic national renewable energy hub that creates thousands of quality jobs for “generations” of work through hydrogen, and offshore wind that has been valued as much as £26 billion over the next 50 years.
In a document circulated by the community council (which is available on its website), the potential issues arising from the new freeport area are mostly related to funding availability and heavier traffic in the firth and the impacts that would have on marine wildlife as well as tourism.
The document states: “We feel that Nairn has long missed out on a ‘fair share’ of available funding. The emphasis on the freeport and associated industry may channel public funding and investment very dramatically towards that area.
“Planners, service providers, and local administration will be required to devote capacity into enabling and supporting the launch and growth of the freeport. That means less capacity for the management and delivery of public services elsewhere.”
The impact is feared also on delivering infrastructure and the strain on services – such as schooling, social and medical care, water supply, road capacity – as well as the impact on housing.
However they recognise the benefits and opportunities that the development may entail, with hopes that it will bring quicker infrastructure delivery that will benefit the area – such as the delivery of A9 and A96 dualling and a Nairn bypass – as well as a boost to local businesses and services and new employment opportunities.
According to the community council, it will be key to set out a strategic plan as a long-term vision for the town has become more critical.
“Without a clear, united and coherent view of what the town does -– or doesn’t – want, and without a definite strategy for achieving its objectives, Nairn will be at risk of being dumped on and disadvantaged by decisions made and imposed from elsewhere.
“There is a pressing need for Community Groups and Businesses to get on to the front foot and not simply be forced into reacting to what happens elsewhere. The momentum behind the creation of a Local Place Plan must be maintained. The Cromarty freeport decision has suddenly and dramatically raised the stakes in terms of local planning and decision-making in Nairn.”
MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Fergus Ewing, said he commended the Community Council for their “strategic consideration” of the implications for he area, adding that pledges by the Scottish Government to deliver on the dualling of the A9 and A96 – including the Nairn By pass – must now see an investment to match the commitment made towards the projects
He said: “I believe that the implications of the Green free port status will further strengthen the case for dualling because the development will see more jobs created and more people seeking to live within commuting distance of the ports – as indeed the Community council recognise and therefore more people using both roads .
“This additional traffic is directly foreseeable, and the existing links are plainly inadequate for the volume of traffic. In addition there is huge and growing concern on safety grounds, with many road traffic incidents resulting in serious injury or fatality. Each one of these is a tragedy for the families involved.
“I do agree with the Community Council that there are challenges and opportunities – but my focus is on continuing to press the Scottish Government to deliver long standing- somewhat aged - pledges to the people of the Highlands.
“This Green free port project will almost certainly require a greater proportion of the Scottish Government capital budget to be spend on roads and roads dualling in the Highlands. I am seeking to extract a promise from the Scottish Government that this increased share will be granted as from 2025 2026 when the existing capital programme comes to a close.”
He said he will provide more detail of this argument in the course of the next weeks.
Responding to the community council's concerns a spokesman for Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF) said: “Nairn is within the 45km boundary, so should be able to take advantage of Green Freeport benefits.
“The award of green freeport status will bring employment and business opportunities to the Highlands on a scale not seen since the arrival of the North Sea oil and gas industry in the 1970s.
“The economic benefits of this game-changing opportunity will be shared across the north and further afield in Scotland and the UK, creating an estimated 25,000 jobs.
“It will allow us to harness our resources to compete on a level playing field with other parts of the UK, ensure the establishment of new manufacturing facilities, and attract fresh, sizeable investment to the Highlands.”
