Highland Council Welcomes Potential Of Inverness And Cromarty Green Freeport
9th March 2023
ighland Council members welcomed an update on the successful Green Freeport bid by the Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF) consortium of which The Highland Council is a partner.
The Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, jointly announced by the Scottish Government and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in January, will make a significant contribution towards meeting the local and national transition to net zero, create high quality, long-lasting employment in a green economy, regenerate and strengthen communities across the region and reverse demographic challenges.
The Green Freeport will help to address climate change and deliver a number of core policy objectives by adopting high environmental standards and through attracting investment in green industries, creating green jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Leader of the Council, Raymond Bremner, emphasised the importance of the Green Freeport coming to Highland. He said: "This clearly has the potential to deliver against local and national outcomes and to play a key role in energy security for Scotland and the UK. The Green Freeport capitalises and builds upon Highland's ongoing role as a renewable energy cluster and will be critical in enabling the development of an efficient and effective hydrogen network. This paves the way for Highland to become a global centre for renewable energy."
Convener Bill Lobban said: “The potential this brings to Highland is undoubtedly huge. It is one of the biggest opportunities to come to Highland for our economy and the regeneration of our communities. We recognise also that the governance will also be extremely important moving forward.”
Chair of the Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, Cllr Ken Gowans added: “Opportunity Cromarty Firth is truly transformational, and it has the potential to shape the lives of every person who lives and works within the Highland Council Area.
“Winning this bid is the result of a lot of endeavour, determination and persuasion made possible by people with different interests all working together with a shared vison. We now need to translate this into a shared success to deliver tangible improvements in our business community and to improve the life chances of the people of Highland. High levels of quality employment will not only tackle population decline, but will make Highland an even better place to live and attract inward investment, while delivering economic prosperity.”
The Council will now take on the role of Accountable Body for the implementation and ongoing operation of the Freeport and the preparation of an outline business case which will be submitted to the UK and Scottish Governments. This work will help to identify the development and infrastructure requirements related to the Green Freeport and the social, environmental and economic benefits that it aims to deliver for Highland communities.
As the Accountable Body the Council will be required to appoint one Director to the Board. Members agreed the appointment of Interim Depute Chief Executive Malcolm MacLeod as the Council representative on the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport Board.
Green Freeports are zoned areas within which operators and businesses can benefit from a package of tax and other incentives through a combination of devolved and reserved levers. They are intended to deliver a wide range of significant social, environmental and economic benefits to their surrounding areas and region. The outline business case is due to be considered by the Council later this year before submission to Scottish and UK Governments.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
The work underway to ensure that Highland communities can benefit from profits being generated by renewable developments will be under the spotlight at next week's meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee. At the meeting on Thursday 29 May, Members will receive an update on progress with the Highland Social Value Charter, which aims to ensure that if developments get the go ahead there is a clear community benefit.
Mounting pressures from inflation, increasing costs and demand are exceeding the Scottish Government's additional investment in Scotland's councils. In 2025/26 councils received over £15 billion in government funding, with more money set to be raised from council tax and charges for some services.
At the meeting of the Highland Council's Climate Change Committee, Members were given an update on the Council's Net Zero Programme. Members welcomed the development of projects that will deliver carbon reductions, operational efficiencies and financial savings.
Highland Council's Climate Change Committee has today reaffirmed its commitment to climate adaptation by supporting the continued work of Highland Adapts - a regional initiative focused on building climate resilience through partnership and community-led action. Chair of the Climate Change Committee, Councillor Sarah Fanet, said: "The Highland region is already experiencing the effects of climate change from increased flooding to changes in biodiversity and these impacts are only expected to intensify.
The Highland Council is pleased to announce new waste and recycling figures for the region, following the introduction of the new waste and recycling services over the last year. The roll out of the new waste and recycling services to householders and businesses began in April 2024 and has been funded by the Scottish Government's Recycling Improvement Fund.
The Highland Council is pleased to announce its participation in the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), taking place this week in Leeds. The event is recognised as the UK's leading platform for fostering partnerships and securing investment in regeneration, infrastructure, and economic development.
Highland Councillors have considered £756m investment across Highland communities over the next 5 years when they discussed an updated report on the consolidated Highland Investment Plan (HIP) at a meeting of The Highland Council on Thursday 15 May 2025. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "The consolidated programme which was presented to Members is part of a longer-term strategy for the Highland Investment Plan which creates a potential £2.1bn of capital investment over a twenty-year period.
Highland Council's Environmental Health team have identified raised levels of naturally occurring bivalve shellfish biotoxins following routine monitoring at Loch Portree. Eating bivalve shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters or razor fish from the area of Loch Portree may pose a health risk arising from the consumption of these biotoxins.
After a successful three-week trial of thermal technology in 2024, Highland Council has appointed Thermal Road Repairs for a two-year patching repair contract worth a seven-figure sum. This will provide an additional resource for repairing surface defects such as potholes, cracking and deteriorating surfacing joints.
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).