LONGER READ: Invergordon traders say Port of Cromarty Firth quayside store is damaging business
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Port of Cromarty Firth (PoCF) has been accused of endangering High Street businesses just as record numbers of cruise ship passengers pour into Invergordon.
The row follows the renewal last month of Drumnadrochit-based Cobbs’ contract to operate a quayside retail outlet offering Scottish gifts, local produce and currency exchange.
Traders along the main Invergordon thoroughfare claim the move syphons off a huge potential income stream and puts their survival at risk.
Five years after the ship-side store first opened, Cobbs saw off a rival bid by High Street trader Danny McRae, of the McRaes of Scotland and Dalriada outlets. Mr McRae planned to let fellow High Street businesses sell goods in the quayside store.
Last year a record 109 cruise ships docked at Invergordon, offloading tens of thousands of passengers. Advance bookings suggest that figure will be surpassed this year, contributing more than £20 million to the Highland economy.
James Collier, vice-chairman of Invergordon Museum on the High Street, is a paralegal who helped Mr McRae prepare his tender.
He said: “The shop on the quayside takes all the money away from Invergordon and there’s a lot of bad feeling. The McRaes bid would have seen money go to shops in Invergordon, offsetting the damage.
"The shop shouldn’t be there at all, but if it has to be then it should be benefitting Invergordon, certainly not taking money away from the town.
"It is one of the reasons why some shops have closed and others are in danger of closing. The port has no consideration for local businesses or their main stakeholder, which is Invergordon.”
Sandra Munro, who runs Tanstar Gifts on the High Street, said: “As owner of an Invergordon High Street retail business, I’m dependent on revenue from seasonal cruise liner visitors.
“I was disappointed to hear that the existing retail outlet currently on the port side would be continuing, and under the same vendor.
“Especially with the hardships and financial difficulties small local businesses have had to endure since Covid, retail revenue from cruise liner visitors should be directed to supporting Invergordon High Street.
“Many shops there offer what British and international visitors are looking for, all within easy walking distance.”
Another trader, who did not wish to be named, said: “We’ve seen so many places closing over the last five years.
“We just feel it is a total outrage – the port has effectively put two fingers up to Invergordon High Street. It is killing us.
“We’ve seen so many places closing over the last five years.
“We just feel it is a total outrage. Having the retail outlet port-side is really just making a statement ‘don’t go to the High Street’.
“It is the other side of security, so we can’t go in it, but some tour guides have told us it would be easier to tell us what they don’t sell, than what they do.
“They could be selling everything everyone on the High Street is selling.
“The Port of Cromarty Firth is not a private company. It is a trust port, a quango, set up in the 1970s by an Act of Parliament.
“It has a constitution and, in it, it’s obliged to do things in the interests of its stakeholders.
“I would argue that, first and foremost, its most important and immediate stakeholder is its host town, Invergordon.
“I would argue they are certainly in breach morally in terms of their obligations.”
Invergordon Development Trust (IDT) chairwoman Marie Clarke accused PoCF of undermining the commercial heart of the town.
She said: "POCF go to great lengths to promote themselves as being considerate to their local stakeholders and they are very proud of the reported £275 million pounds they generate for the Scottish economy annually.
"However, I am at a loss to see how having a retail outlet within an industrial port has any benefit at all for Invergordon, and I'm sure local businesses would confirm that it is in fact undermining the commercial centre of the town.
"Sadly, the only benefit Invergordon seems to get from the cruise industry is the small amount some of the passengers who stay in the town spend in the local shops.
"For this to then be diminished by a separate retail outlet at the quayside is in my opinion unfair.
"Our high street is facing the same challenges as every other town in the country, but the cruise industry could have been the incentive to attract other businesses to our town in pursuit of this revenue and really build a strong commercial centre.
"Sadly, that will never happen while passengers can shop within the port."
Cromarty Firth councillor Tamala Collier also backed the High Street traders and is seeking an urgent meeting with PoCF.
She said: “I’m concerned there are some conflicts of interests going on.
“I would like the port authority to be open and honest with the community. After all, Invergordon is hosting them so they have a duty to take care of the community and listen to the community.
“They have to understand that cruise liners coming into the area are the main source of income for many.
“Since the demise of the smelter, Invergordon is no longer an industrial town. Hopefully, with recent announcements, it can become that again but that won’t happen overnight, it will take time.
“People need to feel trust and believe that the port is going to do the right thing for the community, otherwise it will be very difficult for the community to have a proper bond with the port.
“I’d like to meet with them and help build that bond.”
A PoCF spokesman said: “All tenders were scored on an equal footing and Cobbs, a well-established Highland company, was the clear winner.
“The retail outlet has proved a great way of encouraging passengers to come ashore and many go on to visit Invergordon High Street and its shops.
“A record number of cruise ships is expected to visit Invergordon this year, which will benefit businesses in Invergordon and the wider Highland area.”
