Nigg Masterplan - Award of Contract

31st March 2008

The Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are pleased to announce that the contract for the preparation of a Development Master Plan for the Nigg Fabrication Yard and surrounding areas has been awarded to Halcrow and Mackay Consultants.

The purpose of the Development Master Plan is to examine all feasible options to bring the site into use as an industrial facility and to examine the identified industrial allocations within the Development Plan for the area.

The Development Master Plan is intended to inform and provide the rationale that underpins the requirement to pursue a Compulsory Purchase Order procedure which is under consideration by The Highland Council.

This assessment will be based upon up-to-date civil engineering knowledge of the condition of the site to ensure its validity. The Master Plan will forecast and outline future market options and provide assessments for industrial sectors for the next 15 to 20 years.

The Highland Council's Chairman of the Planning, Environment and Development Committee, Councillor Drew Hendry welcomed the news that the contract for the Plan had been awarded. He said: "This is a key milestone and is a crucially important step in revitalising the Nigg yard. As this is a nationally important site, its future success will bring enormous benefits not only locally, but to the Highland economy and that of Scotland as a whole."

James Gibbs, HIE Area Manager said: "This yard has one of the best deep water docks in Europe. It formerly played a significant role in the Highland economy and, without doubt, has the potential to do so again. Comissioning Halcrow and Mackay to carry out this study is a strategic step towards bringing the Nigg yard back into production and we are pleased to be working with The Highland Council in this way to plan a new future for this facility."

Work on the Master Plan is due to commence within the next few days and is scheduled for completion in mid July.