Gibson presses case for Invergordon land deal
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A ROSS-SHIRE MSP has reiterated his call for a land deal to be hammered out in the wake of a controversial development.
Rob Gibson made his remarks as he accused the Cromarty Firth Port Authority of a “reprehensible” lack of respect for local people in Invergordon.
The Port Authority – which says expansion at Invergordon Service Base is essential to grow business and create more jobs – has come under sustained attack for the way it went about starting development of Linear Park.
The coastal strip near the main entrance to Invergordon has been used as an area of amenity for around 20 years.
The CFPA though insists it is land that it reclaimed and that it has a legal right to develop it. However the lack of public consultation over the scheme and the appearance of bulldozers at the site has angered many locals unhappy that it went ahead in the immediate aftermath of a Highland Council election and before a new administration was formed.
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross SNP MSP Rob Gibson yesterday repeated his call for the CFPA and the Crown Estate, from which it leases land, to make land available to the community of Invergordon after work wasstarted on the Linear Park.
Mr Gibson said that he has long advocated a solution that would see both agencies give land to the community to compensate them for the loss of the Linear Park and has written to the CFPA asking for action.
A long-standing critic of the way in which the CFPA “fails to interact with the community”, Mr Gibson said: “The way in which the CFPA has, along with the Crown Estate, taken the land away from the community is reprehensible. It shows their lack of respect for the townspeople and will not endear them to many.
"I have long been concerned by the poor community relations between CFPA and Invergordon. Although this latest situation sees them hitting new lows, I would hope that the CFPA will start working with and for the community to mend their tarnished local image.
"I have long advocated that the CFPA and Crown Estate fully recompense the community of Invergordon by making newly reclaimed land available if the Linear Park was eaten into. I have now written to the Port Authority to seek their views as a matter of urgency."
The area’s MP, John Thurso, this week welcomed a response to his representations on the affair from the Crown Estate. He has been told of the likelihood that a fresh lease would be required for a third phase of development – and that there would be scope to negotiate a land deal in that.
The MP has been forthright in his criticism of the way the CFPA has handled the Linear Park development, saying “it has left a very sore taste in the mouth”.
The CFPA says a £1million investment in the base in 2010 formed the first phase of its plans.
Reactivation of three acres of land originally claimed by CFPA — currently underway — is phase 2 and is costing £1.25million. That will create an estimated 50 new jobs, it says.
The CFPA says the third phase, involving the £20million reclamation of seven acres and construction of 140 metres of quay, is due to begin in Spring 2014.
That will create up to 200 new jobs, it estimates, and will “secure vital opportunities for the local supply chain to benefit from oil and gas projects and offshore wind farm developments”.
It says alternative phase 3 options were considered and discounted “on the basis of cost and suitability of purpose”.
It said that “further communication regarding phase 3 will take place in due course”.
