The money will help the port develop the St Ola pier, increasing its capacity to accommodate larger boats, attract offshore oil and gas vessels and take additional cruise ships.
The improvement work – expected to cost £17 million – is likely to generate up to 50 new jobs, increase traffic and bring extra visitors, providing a boost to the area’s tourism industry.
It is understood the upgrade could increase revenue for Scrabster harbour by 18 per cent over five years. Work will include dredging, to increase the depth of the water, and modifications to the pier itself – meaning larger vessels are able berth there.
NDA chief executive David Peattie said: “Supporting the communities around our sites is a fundamental part of our mission to clean up the UK’s nuclear legacy.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the NDA to help develop Scrabster harbour in a way that can have a long-lasting impact for the community of Caithness.”
Sandy Mackie, Scrabster Harbour Trust manager, said: “This is a tremendous vote of confidence in our project. We are working closely with a number of organisations to progress the project and expect to make further announcements in the coming months, as the funding and development plans come together.”
Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership (CNSRP) was set up in 2008 to address the economic impact that the work to decommission the Dounreay site would have on the north Highlands.
CNSRP chairman Ian Ross welcomed the news. He said: “We have made good progress in our efforts to move the economies of Caithness and North Sutherland away from their dependence on Dounreay.
“Both Scrabster and Wick harbours have been an important part of the regeneration partnership’s work, and this news will reinforce the importance of marine activities in the region.
“The award of £5 million to Scrabster harbour by the NDA will significantly improve the capacity of this key strategic asset.”
Scrabster is already an important port, supporting fishing, oil and renewables and providing a ferry link to Orkney.
It is operated by a trust overseen by a board of management appointed from the community. All surpluses generated from the harbour operation are reinvested in the port and its infrastructure.
Source – John O’Groat Journal
THE plan to build the UK’s first vertical launch spaceport in the far north is “a fantastic confidence boost” for the area and could be a catalyst for other developments, local trade unionists have been told.
June Love, of Space Hub Sutherland, also suggested the project could benefit the tourism industry when she gave an update at a meeting of Thurso and Wick Trade Union Council.
She said the spaceport at Moine, between Tongue and Durness, is the only one to receive grant funding for a vertical launch site. It is expected to create 40 local jobs with a further 400 in the wider region.
The aim is to have small commercial and research satellites in sub-orbital flight by the early 2020s.
The UK Space Agency gave £2.5 million towards the cost of the £17.5 million project, which also involves companies such as Lockheed Martin and Orbex. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has given £9.8 million to the project.
Ms Love said the spaceport could provide other potential opportunities for the area. “It brings inward investment potential and is a fantastic confidence boost for the area.
“It could attract other things here and help the tourist industry as people would want to come and see the site,” she told Thursday night’s meeting.
She said the area has the highly skilled workforce and the facilities required for such an initiative which will help sustain the reputation of the north Highlands as a centre for science and technology. It will also help diversify the local economy as jobs are lost at the Dounreay nuclear plant while it is being decommissioned.
It is expected a planning application will be submitted by late 2019. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring of next year and take 12 months to complete, with the first launch due in the early 2020s. Architects have been appointed to design the spaceport.
Ms Love said the spacecraft will be about 17 metres high and weigh less than 20 tons. The journey into space will take between 15 and 20 minutes.
She said initial launches will use international staff but local staff will be required over time. Other launch companies are taking an interest in the project.
Ms Love pointed out that discussions have taken place with the Melness Crofters Estate on leasing land and said North Highland College (UHI) in Thurso could be involved in training and other aspects of the project such as research and development.
Trades council chairman Davie Alexander said: “This is a very positive step and can only be a good thing for the area.”
Lockheed Martin is an American aerospace giant which employs 100,000 people worldwide, while Orbital Express (Orbex) is a UK-based space flight company developing a new orbital micro-launch vehicle.
It is expected six small rockets a year will be launched from the Sutherland site.
Source – John O’Groat Journal
The first Norwegian style learning centre in the UK will be officially opened in Thurso today (Monday March 25).
Newton Rooms are designed to inspire more young people to become interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and encourage them to study these subjects in school and beyond.
The centre at North Highland College UHI in Thurso is the first of a network of Newton Rooms being created in the Highland region by the Science Skills Academy, a partnership project led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) with £3m from the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
It will provide an inspirational setting for school pupils to take part in practical activities which complement the STEM sectors found in the region. It also provides an accessible base for extracurricular STEM activities not only for young people but also their families and others in the local community as well as across the region.
Although initially focused on the Highland region, due to City-Region Deal funding, the programme will seek to spread its activity across all areas in the Highlands and Islands region.
Other organisations behind the initiative include Skills Development Scotland, the University of the Highlands and Islands, The Highland Council and NHS Highland.
International specialist firm FIRST Scandinavia, the company that developed and owns the Newton concept, was appointed by HIE last year to create Scotland’s first Newton room in Thurso.
Scotland’s second Newton Room in Lochaber will be opened on the 2nd April and, in the interim period, will be hosted at Caol Youth Centre. It is intended that it will later be part of the new Centre for Science and Technology in Fort William which is being planned by West Highland College UHI.
Organisations behind the project are developing Newton Modules to match STEM sectors in the Highlands and Islands, which will complement the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence and Scottish STEM Strategy.
Andrew Johnston, HIE’s director for the Science Skills Academy, said: “It’s great to see the first Newton Room in the country officially opened in Thurso. Caithness has been at the forefront of scientific and technological advances in Scotland for more than 60 years and this facility will help it stay there. The centre will aim to inspire young people across the whole of Caithness and North Sutherland who are interested in STEM subjects.
Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead
said: “The Newton Rooms project offers pupils and the community a wonderful opportunity to discover and become enthused by STEM.
“This is the first facility of its kind to open in the UK, supported by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, and reflects Scotland’s position as a pioneer in STEM. It is important that we engage and involve people from all walks of life and at all ages to develop STEM skills and knowledge in our rapidly changing world, to enrich their lives and benefit the Scottish economy.
“I would like to thank the staff of North Highland College and their partners for their work inspiring children and young people and providing new and creative opportunities to make STEM education stimulating, attractive and rewarding.”
Donald MacBeath, principal of North Highland College UHI, said: “I’m delighted that the main campus of North Highland College UHI will be hosting the country’s first Newton Room. I believe it will become the focal point for innovative and industry-focussed STEM learning for the area’s young people. Being located in a college environment with a significant STEM research portfolio will only further add value to the overall Newton Room experience”
Archibald Henderson started his engineering career in 1895, aged 17, working for David Cunningham who was an Engineer for Dundee Harbour Trust. During his training he worked on many marine projects around the Dundee area gaining hands-on experience of civil engineering.
As a fully qualified engineer, he left Dundee Harbour Trust to go and work on projects around the world. He worked in Wales, Spain, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and more. One of his most impressive projects was in Brazil where he worked on a major dredging, reclamation and harbour works project. The value of the project in 1909 was around £6M, which would be closer to one billion in today’s money.
Archibald returned to Scotland in 1913 with a vast amount of engineering and life experience. At this time he became the Resident Engineer for Macduff Harbour, a position he held until he died.
After WWI, Archibald went into Partnership with G. Gordon Nicol, and began trading as Henderson and Nicol. In 1919, at age 41, Archibald and Gordon set up office at 21 Bridge St, Aberdeen and started work specialising in marine civil engineering. The firm worked on many strategically important harbour and marine projects in Aberdeen, Macduff, Port Seton, Stonehaven, Rosehearty, Girvan, Fleetwood, Lerwick, Peterhead and Nairn.
Archibald was the President of the Aberdeen Association of Civil Engineers from 1923 to 1924.
During the 1930s, a time of world-wide depression, the company found trading conditions challenging, and Gordon Nicol decided to leave the partnership in 1938, leaving Archibald as the sole Partner until his death in 1947 at the age of 69. His eldest son, Ian took over the business followed by his youngest son, Gordon, who joined the firm in 1971. Today, no family members work in the organisation, but their legacy has been built upon to take the business into the 21st Century. The current Partnership of seven Partners manages a staff of nearly 80 people; offering a wider range of services – adding to engineering design with architecture design, project management, environmental services, geotechnical engineering design, principal designer role and diving inspections in industries such as energy, defence, healthcare, industrial and commercial installations as well as marine which still accounts for around half of our annual revenue.
Source – www.arch-henderson.co.uk
The Europe Direct Information Centre (EDIC) for the North Highlands & Islands, hosted by Caithness Chamber of Commerce, held a well-attended business breakfast at the Pentland Hotel, Thurso on Friday 1 March to give businesses across the region the latest information on what they should be doing to prepare for Brexit.
Featuring speakers from the Local Export Partnership for the Highlands & Islands, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, and Enterprise Europe Network, the event was attended by representatives of a range of local businesses.
The strong message on the day was the need for businesses to prepare for the possibility of a “no deal” Brexit. All of the speakers emphasised that businesses trading with the EU should as a minimum apply for an Economic Operator and Registration Indicator (EORI) number, and that those importing goods should register for HMRC’s new Transitional Simplified Procedure for import VAT.
Other issues and actions discussed on the day included the challenges to the labour market, particularly for businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector, and the difficulty of pricing future contracts given potential changes to tariffs and the value of the pound.
Speakers also signposted the resources available to businesses to help them prepare, including the Customs Training and IT Grants Scheme, prepareforbrexit.scot, and the Skills for Growth service.
The event was also livestreamed on Facebook to allow businesses across the region to take part, and the archived video can be viewed online at facebook.com/edicnhi. In addition, all of the presentations from the day have been made available at slideshare.net/CaithnessChamberofCommerce/
Molly Bennett, Commercial Graduate won the ‘Champion of the Year’ category, which recognised her work in championing equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) initiatives within Cavendish Nuclear. Her drive to champion and promote gender balance and make tangible change has inspired and generated an entire community of people who now want to follow her lead and be a part of changing the stereotypical attitudes that still exist in today’s world.
Molly said, “Winning the ‘Champion of the Year’ award is not only an achievement for myself and the different work I’ve completed over the last year, but most of all its a testament
to everything that Cavendish Nuclear is doing as a company. Cavendish recognises that increasing and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion is not only the right thing to do to ensure one inclusive culture, but that it also makes good business and commercial sense. I’ve been with the company for just over 2 years now and I believe that there has be
en a visible step change in this area. I am really looking forward to the future to see what more we can achieve together.”
Phil Craig, former Managing Director of Dounreay and Cavendish Nuclear employee, secured the Ally of the Year award and Molly Bennett, Commercial Graduate, won the Champion of the Year award.
Phil was the first Managing Director of a Site Licence Company to sign the Women in Nuclear UK pledge, committing the time and resources required to make a difference at site level. During his time at Dounreay, once a fast reactor research site and now one of Europe’s most complex decommissioning projects, he put people at the centre of the company’s mission by leading, championing and mentoring others to affect change. This was achieved whilst delivering major complex projects of strategic national importance and achieving a 90% improvement in the Dounreay site’s safety record.
Phil said, “It’s a real honour to have been nominated for a Women in Nuclear award. For me it means that we are being recognised for putting people at the centre of our business. That mentality, and commitment, bodes well for the long term. I’m incredibly proud of all of the work that has been undertaken at Dounreay during my time there, specifically in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion. All of this work and the reason for this nomination is because of the effort and commitment of the site staff, who are committed to delivering the mission but also to making a difference in the people agenda. To have been part of that journey and to be recognised by them is the most humbling part of all”.
Cavendish Nuclear is committed to proactively addressing the gender balance in the industry. As an employer who is actively enhancing the professional development of women in order to inspire the next generation of females into the nuclear sector, it has substantially raised its profile and brand in recent years to drive recruitment in this area, which is paying dividend.