Public invited to comment on Sutherland spaceport plans
THE public is being invited to comment on the plans for a spaceport on the north Sutherland coast.
Blueprints for the facility, which will launch communications satellites into orbit from the Moine peninsula, are set to be unveiled at public meetings over the next two months to allow anyone with an interest in the project to find out more, question the design team and developers, and comment on the plans before they are finalised.
On Wednesday, development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which is backing the £17.3 million project to design and build Space Hub Sutherland, lodged a proposal of application notice with Highland Council.
The notice effectively triggers the start of a process that will lead to a formal application for planning consent being submitted to the local authority at the end of December.
As part of pre-planning consultation, HIE is organising public events at Melness Community Centre on Wednesday, October 2, and Monday, November 25, each running from 3.30pm to 8pm. Additional events will be held between these dates and details posted online at www.spacehubsutherland.com where copies of the plans will also be published.
This is a hugely ambitious project, not only for Sutherland but for the whole of the UK.
Roy Kirk, HIE’s Space Hub Sutherland project director, said he hoped many local people would take up the opportunity to find out more.
“This is a hugely ambitious project, not only for Sutherland but for the whole of the UK,” Mr Kirk said.
“The British space sector is in a phase of expansion at present and the Highlands and Islands have the natural assets, skills base and supply chain expertise to capitalise on the huge opportunity this presents.
“Space Hub Sutherland is now approaching a very exciting stage where we will shortly be able to start presenting the detail of our plans to stakeholders, including people who live in the vicinity of the launch site.
“We’ve been holding informal drop-in sessions at different locations for a few months now and delivering presentations to community groups and business organisations, which have been well received. It’s really important for local people to have a chance to find out what the spaceport will mean for the area, and that we listen to their views to help shape our planning application.”
HIE has approved £9.8m to develop Space Hub Sutherland, and the UK Space Agency has awarded £2.5m. A further £5m is being sought from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The space agency has also awarded grants to two companies that plan to launch satellites from Sutherland – Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Orbex, which has already established a manufacturing facility in Forres.
An economic impact assessment commissioned by HIE last year concluded that the project could generate around 400 jobs across the Highlands and Islands, including 40 or so skilled positions at the space hub itself.
In addition to a launch pad complex, the spaceport will include an operations and control centre, launch towers, an assembly building, an antenna farm, access roads, car parking and security fencing.
HIE expects up to 10 launches a year from Sutherland, with the first taking place in the early 2020s.