Ross-shire land grab sparks fury
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A £1.2 million Easter Ross development scheme will go ahead on a disputed greenfield site without the need for planning approval.
And a disgusted Invergordon businessman yesterday claimed the community had been "sold down the Swanee" over plans by the Cromarty Firth Port Authority to expand the town’s service base on to neighbouring Linear Park.
Malcolm Harrison, a former Invergordon Tourism Alliance chairman, who runs a coffee house in the town, called on the CFPA to consider its "moral duty" to the area amid growing calls for agreement on a "substantial" cash sum to be paid in compensation to the community.
The port authority insists it needs to expand to support the equivalent of up to 1,000 jobs, with work due to be completed before the end of this year.
Mr Harrison is critical of the way both Highland Council and the Crown Estates Commission, which leases land to the CFPA, have handled the affair.
Ross SNP MSP Rob Gibson yesterday agreed that "the community had been kept in the dark" over the plans and said he was pressing for suitable compensation.
Locals have voiced concern that a precious amenity area will be lost and that a stunning view across the Cromarty Firth already spoiled by major developments on the base pushed through via "permitted rights" without the need for planning approval, will be destroyed.
Mr Harrison has been advised by Prince Charles to consult the Environmental Law Foundation for advice on legal matters.
He said: "I believe Highland councillors don’t want this to be an issue in the election. The CFPA has been out with a measuring wheel and I won’t be at all surprised if a fence goes up very soon.
"I think the whole town has been sold down the Swanee. It won’t end at Linear Park. As soon as you come out of Invergordon High Street you won’t have anything to look at. The view will be gone. It’s the people of Invergordon who have to put up with it. We are trying to make the whole area more pleasant for visitors and locals. We are fighting against fatcats with hands in each others’ pockets.
"I think the CFPA has a moral duty to the town. It is there to make money like anyone else but there is a duty that comes with that. I employ five people and I like to try to give something back. It says it brings business to the town and I benefit from that too — but I’m not prepared to sell my soul for a couple of bacon rolls."
If the plans are pushed through, he believes the CFPA should make a substantial community benefit payment.
Questioned over its proposals for Linear Park, the CFPA said it had reclaimed the land in question, up to the then high water mark, as part of the service base development in the mid 1990s.
At that time, "the CFPA board allowed the council to use the land until such time as it was required".
The port authority says it now requires the land as part of a phased plan to develop the service base potential and meet the growing needs of the port.
It "intends to enclose the land within the secure area of the port and to use it for port related activities".
Investment of more than £1.2m will be made to return this land back to its intended use when it was reclaimed and is expected to create a further 50 new jobs from 2013 onwards. Work should be completed by the third quarter of 2012.
CFPA has "made all attempts to be open and transparent to the local community", according to Ken Gray, its chief executive.It is essential that this land is reactivated. We appreciate that some are not in favour. However, our survey of the land usage has shown it to be very little used.
"It is important that we all work together for the economic regeneration of Invergordon."
Highland Council had confirmed the land was reclaimed by the port authority and as such the port had permitted development rights under the Town and Country Planning Order 1992, Mr Gray said.
Cromarty Firth ward councillor Martin Rattray, who has business interests on the service base, said he had warned against the construction of a large fabrication shed on the site several years ago because of the shortage of laydown space.
"It comes as no surprise to me that the port needs to develop, partly as a result of now having very little usable laydown and operational land," he said.
"Let’s hope this development, if it goes ahead, can deliver real jobs, especially for our young people.
"I would like to see the CFPA consult with the community to get the best outcome and I ask that the CFPA listens to their concerns before going ahead."
SNP Cromarty Firth councillor Maxine Smith said if it went ahead: "I would like to see the CFPA give consideration to the townspeople and consider a quid-pro-quo so that would give the town an exchange of some land it currently owns elsewhere so this could be turned into a green space to sit, picnic and go for a walk with dogs or just enjoy peace and quiet."
She warned that removing the use of Linear Park from the town for amenity and not replacing it "would be highly detrimental to the town".
Ross MSP Rob Gibson said: "I believe the community has been kept in the dark by the CFPA. The community should receive benefit from any proposed development at the service base and I am discussing this issue with them on an ongoing basis."
