22nd September 2026
There is an interesting economic development project taking shape at Montrose which deserves attention in Caithness.
It is called ZeroFour, a 123-acre former RAF airfield being developed by Crown Estate Scotland in partnership with Angus Council.
The idea is bigger than simply putting up a collection of industrial units.
ZeroFour is intended to become a clean-growth business hub, bringing together industrial and manufacturing space, warehousing, offices, start-up accommodation, research and development, higher-technology businesses and training facilities.
The site is particularly aimed at the blue and green economies, including offshore wind and other renewable-energy industries. There are also plans and proposals involving drones, digital technology, hospitality and other supporting businesses.
It is an example of something that is often talked about in economic development but is much harder to achieve in practice: creating a place where businesses can come because the infrastructure, land, skills and supply chain are already being developed around them.
The importance of the site
Crown Estate Scotland bought the former airfield in 2020 for £3.7 million.
The site already had planning permission in principle for a mixed-use business park. Since then, the ambition has developed around its potential role in the offshore renewable-energy economy.
That is important because Montrose is not being asked to create an economy from scratch.
The site is close to Montrose Port, which is already involved in offshore wind operations and maintenance. The port is the operations and maintenance base for the Seagreen offshore wind farm and is also expected to support the Inch Cape project.
In 2025, Scottish Enterprise provided £3.2 million towards a £7.2 million project to acquire and develop land less than two miles from Montrose Port as an industrial park for companies connected to the renewables sector.
So several pieces are being assembled at the same time: port facilities, industrial land, renewable-energy projects, skills and training, transport infrastructure and potential new businesses.
That is what makes the comparison with Caithness interesting.
Caithness already has many of the ingredients
Caithness does not need to invent an economic opportunity.
It already has Dounreay, Scrabster Harbour, Wick Harbour, Wick John O'Groats Airport, UHI facilities, a skilled engineering workforce and a growing collection of renewable-energy and grid projects.
Scrabster is investing in additional land, infrastructure and facilities for energy, logistics and marine activity, including a 32-acre Enterprise Area at Scrabster Mains and plans for additional industrial and laydown space.
Wick Business Park is also expanding. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has invested more than £4 million in flexible workspace there and is developing a further masterplan for offices, industrial units, storage and trade counters.
And the economic importance of Dounreay has just been underlined by a new assessment showing that the site supported an estimated 2,624 full-time equivalent jobs in Caithness and North Sutherland during 2024/25, equivalent to about 23% of all jobs in the area.
The ingredients are therefore there.
The question is whether they are being connected together sufficiently effectively to attract the next generation of businesses.
The difference may be the scale of the proposition
One lesson from ZeroFour is that investors are not necessarily looking for a single plot of land.
They may be looking for an ecosystem.
A company considering locating in Caithness might want industrial premises, reliable electricity, broadband, transport, port access, skilled workers, training facilities, suppliers and other companies operating in related industries.
If all those things are being developed separately by different organisations, the potential investor has to put the pieces together.
A more coordinated proposition can make the decision easier.
This is particularly relevant now because Caithness is facing a major economic transition.
Dounreay remains a huge economic asset, but its long-term purpose is decommissioning rather than permanent expansion. At the same time, the area is attracting renewable-energy development and major electricity-grid investment.
The challenge is to make sure that those projects do not simply pass through Caithness.
The greater prize would be to capture more of the manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, technology and service businesses that grow around them.
It does not have to be another ZeroFour
This is not an argument for building a huge business park simply because Montrose is doing so.
Caithness has a different geography and different strengths.
It may make more sense to develop a connected industrial and energy proposition around existing assets, rather than one giant new site.
Scrabster could play a greater role in offshore energy and marine activity. Wick could provide flexible industrial and commercial accommodation. Dounreay provides a substantial engineering and nuclear skills base. UHI can contribute training and research.
The emerging grid and renewable-energy developments provide another potential foundation.
The Focus North partnership already brings together Dounreay, the NDA, HIE, Highland Council, Skills Development Scotland, UHI, the Chamber of Commerce and the Scottish Government with objectives including attracting investment, increasing the working population and diversifying the local economy.
The pieces therefore exist.
The question is whether they can be presented to investors as one economic opportunity rather than a collection of individual projects.
The real test is businesses, not announcements
There is another lesson from ZeroFour. Economic development takes time.
The site has been in Crown Estate Scotland's ownership since 2020 and work has involved planning, environmental assessment, stakeholder engagement, supply-chain analysis and assessing market demand. A recent September 2026 procurement notice also indicates that remediation work is now moving forward, subject to the necessary funding approval.
That is a reminder that announcing an economic hub is the easy part.
The difficult part is getting companies through the door, building the infrastructure they need and creating jobs that remain after the initial construction work is finished.
For Caithness, that may be the most useful question to ask.
With billions of pounds potentially being invested in energy and infrastructure around the North Highlands over coming decades, how much of the resulting economic activity can actually be captured locally?
Montrose's ZeroFour project offers one possible answer: identify the land, infrastructure, skills and industries that belong together and deliberately build the environment around them.
Caithness has many of those ingredients already.
What it may need is a similarly clear proposition for investors: not simply come to Caithness because we have energy projects, but come here because this is where you can build a business around them.