Can the far north really benefit from economic spin-offs of Cromarty Firth freeport status?
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Caithness and Sutherland won't be left out of the expected jobs and investment boon from the Cromarty Firth green freeport deal, it has been claimed.
Some business leaders in the north are confident that the opportunities afforded by the status – which was announced by the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, in a visit to the Highlands earlier this month – can be felt around the whole region.
The Cromarty Firth and Inverness Green Freeport was one of two successful bids in Scotland, along with the Firth of Forth. The status offers tax and other incentives for businesses to invest in the area.
It has been suggested that up to 25,000 jobs could be created in the region on the back of the move, although doubts have been aired about whether that number will be accurate.
But with the focus on the Cromarty Firth and Inverness areas, will the far north be able to reap any of the rewards that are available?
Eann Sinclair, Caithness and Sutherland area manager for Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: "It's too early to tell but I think there are lots of really hopeful signs. There's lots of stuff going on in the background which is really helpful and does make me a bit more confident it's going to genuinely spread across the area."
Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF), which led the bid for the area's new "green freeport," has worked with HIE and other stakeholders in the run-up to the announcement, with manufacturing of offshore renewables and even small nuclear reactors being touted for the area.
Port of Cromarty Firth chief executive Bob Buskie said it is “hugely important that this region takes advantage of that opportunity.”
Mr Sinclair said: "I know there will be people who think we are too far away to benefit but we're not, and to be fair to OCF that's been their proposition all along, that the whole area will benefit – and I think they're right.
"They've been very collaborative from day one, so we've had people at our meetings and a couple of people form our network of partners have been down with OCF as well, so it feels like it's got the best chance possible of succeeding.
"You've got space, you've got offshore wind, you've got hydrogen, you've got all these things all happening at roughly the same time – which in some ways might feel almost overwhelming to people, but I think we've now got a collection of organisations that are up for the job."
He added that it was too early to talk about numbers of jobs in concrete terms, adding: "But it's big, I would say."
David Richardson, the Federation of Small Businesses' development manager for the Highlands and Islands, suggested it would be up to local businesses to seize the opportunities that arise from the freeport.
He said: “It’s very early days, but I’m sure that the Cromarty Firth Green Freeport will wish to see as much of the benefit emanating from its activities staying within the Highlands as possible, and there are various ways in which Caithness might benefit – more business for Caithness-based renewables firms and supply chain businesses; employment opportunities; more people visiting Caithness to spend money in their leisure time; and so on.
“Business owners in the Highlands tend to be lateral thinkers, expert at seizing any opportunities that come their way, and many in Caithness will doubtless be watching events unfold with great interest and readying themselves for action.”
However, Highland-based economist Tony MacKay was more sceptical about the benefits of the status being awarded to the OCF bid.
Mr MacKay said: "The proponents of the Cromarty Firth and Inverness Green Freeport claim that it will create up to 25,000 jobs. However, I believe that claim is far too high and that the actual number will be much lower. I had suggested one-tenth of that figure, but even 2500 new jobs may be too high.
"Nevertheless, any additional jobs and other economic benefits created by the freeport will be welcome.
"I doubt if there will be large spin-off benefits for Caithness and Sutherland. It depends on the extent that local businesses can be suppliers for the new developments. There has been mention of some nuclear work and if so obviously businesses involved with the Dounreay rundown may have suitable expertise.
"Another possibility is the involvement of UHI North College, particularly in appropriate research and teaching projects.
"If thousands of new jobs are created then people living in Sutherland and Caithness could commute to work in the Cromarty Firth area. That happened in the past when the Nigg oil fabrication yard was booming.
"Overall, however, I doubt if there will be large benefits for Sutherland and Caithness."
Visiting Invergordon to announce the news, Mr Sunak had declared: “It’s about optimism. You talk to the people that we were talking to, the lift it has given them and the optimism that it will give to and feed the entire community in the entire region and that’s what levelling-up is about.”
