North Eyesore Gets Major Facelift
15th September 2001
A north industrial estate which has lain derelict for years is set for a major overhaul and clean-up.
The £341,000 investment is being made to the site at Janetstown on the outskirts of Thurso in a joint collaboration between Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE) and local firm JGC Engineering and Technical Services Ltd.
JGC - a well established local company which has traded in the local area since it was established in 1972 will also build a test and trial facility on the estate worth a further £150,000.
The new facility will accommodate work relating to an 'Alliance' contract awarded by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) which relates to decommissioning work at Dounreay. JGC won the contract by joining forces with other contractors from further afield to deal with the safe disposal of residual liquid metal which was used to cool the reactor.
It is hoped that further decommissioning work at Dounreay - estimated to be worth in the region of £4 billion over the next 30-40 years will help attract additional investment to the area - and with the clearance of the old industrial estate at Janetstown, this has made way for site availability for other potential businesses to use.
Carroll Buxton, acting chief executive of CASE said: "Bringing this site back into economic use provides an attractive location for businesses seeking to take advantage of decommissioning contracts at Dounreay. We are delighted the first company to take advantage of this move is one with deep roots in the area.
"This initiative also improves and makes safe an area of derelict land which had become a real eyesore. The Highland Council will also provide street lighting which will enhance the area even further - especially for golfers who use the road beside the site for access to Thurso Golf Club."
The environmental renewal work being carried out at the site includes:
removal and safe disposal of asbestos sheeting and surface debris, and removal of concrete bases;
general excavation of the site and hardcoring;
construction of roads, installation of kerbs and building an attractive front entrance;
installation and overhaul of existing services including electricity, drainage and telecommunications;
renovation of the exterior of one existing industrial unit for use as an office block.
These works will be carried out over a two year period, although phase one of the test facility will be constructed by JGC immediately in order that the contract won from UKAEA can begin without delay.
Director of JGC Engineering and Technical Services Ltd John Campbell said: "We are delighted that the next phase of our continuous development is in the north of Scotland. Our move into decommissioning work is a fantastic challenge for us and we look forward to building relationships now and in the future with our partners locally and further afield.
"Our company can boast an excellent track record of traditional engineering work, but the move into decommissioning demonstrates our adaptability and skill at the high-tech end of the engineering spectrum as well."
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The new, state-of-the-art Technology and Innovation Centre at UHI North, West and Hebrides' Stornoway campus officially opened following a £2.3m investment. It is the first capital project to be delivered under the Islands Growth Deal, a ten-year package that seeks to drive economic growth and the creation of sustainable jobs across Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is looking to contract a specialist operating company to run a new multi-million-pound innovation centre under development in Moray to support manufacturing. The three-year contract will involve developing and managing the service offering of the new Manufacturing Innovation Centre Moray (MICM), as well as stakeholder engagement, marketing and promotion of the facility.
An innovation project by a major carrot grower in Moray is forecast to strengthen the company's position and create more jobs. Family-run firm, AA Carrots Ltd grows carrots on 400 acres of land around Moray and Aberdeenshire, of which around half is organic.
More than 30 of the region's businesses are took centre stage at the UK's biggest renewable energy exhibition and conference at Glasgow’s SEC 14-15 May. Global experts, academics and innovators gathered at the annual All-Energy exhibition and conference to advance Scotland’s goal of net zero and achieving a sustainable future.
The scale of transformational opportunity facing the Highlands and Islands economy has been quantified for the first time in a new report. The study reports 251 planned development projects in the economic pipeline of what it refers to as regional transformational opportunities (RTOs).
The renewable energy credentials of the Highlands and Islands has attracted a visit this week from a top UK Government official leading the drive to secure clean energy by 2030. Chris Stark leads the UK Government's Mission for Clean Power by 2030, in the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has submitted an application for planning permission in principle to make way for the second and final phase of development at Inverness Campus. Most of the development in the proposals is for commercial floorspace, with other elements including hotel and academic space.
Highland food and drink supply chain or manufacturing businesses are being encouraged to take advantage of fully funded one-to-one technology advice and funding support. The support is part of the second phase of Food and Drink TechHUB, which itself is part of the Northern Innovation Hub (NIH), a multi-million-pound initiative led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) under the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.
The Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership (HIREP)'s Regional Economic Strategy addresses the challenges affecting the region's businesses and communities. A partnership of public, private and academic organisations in the Highlands and Islands has unveiled its ten-year strategy to deliver sustainable economic growth across the region.
Loch Fyne company Otter Ferry Seafish Limited to increase production, safeguard the workforce and create new jobs. A £350,000 expansion project at a seafood company in Argyll will increase production, safeguard the workforce and create new jobs.