Planning permission recommended for Sutherland spaceport
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Highland Council officials have recommended that councillors give planning permission for the spaceport development in north Sutherland.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) wants to build the satellite launch site on the Moine peninsula.
Council officials have said launches should be limited to 12 per year. Among the reasons for this is the amount of plastic and metal debris falling into the sea during rocket launches.
Twelve would see an estimated five tonnes of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and seven tonnes of metal alloy dropping into the sea each year, according to the officials' report.
Councillors on Highland Council's north planning applications committee will consider the proposals for the space hub on Friday.
The local authority has received 457 objections to the plans and 118 representations in support of them.
Impact on the environment and risk to human health are among the reasons for the objections.
Local community councils have supported the project because it is expected to create new jobs.
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Edward Mountain said: “I welcome the recommendation today from Highland Council planning officers to grant planning permission for the Sutherland spaceport. The spaceport is a huge opportunity for the region and will create jobs across the Highlands.”
HIE has said that by the year 2024 the spaceport would support 177 jobs across Scotland – 139 in the Highlands – with more than 40 of these posts in and around the launch site.
HIE has approved up to £17.3 million in funding towards designing and building the space hub. The enterprise agency would contribute £9.8 million, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority £5 million and the UK Space Agency £2.5 million.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is involved because of its work to help create jobs to replace those lost from the eventual closure of the Dounreay site.
Designed by Norr Architects, the facility would comprise a launch control centre, a single launch pad and associated infrastructure, including roadways, fuel storage, office premises and antennas.
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