Council confirms funding for Nigg yard regeneration

The Highland Council has awarded a £630,000 grant towards the costs of regenerating the Nigg Energy Park in East Ross.

The grant comes from the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) and is awarded to Global Energy Nigg (GEN), the new operators of the energy park.

The grant is to assist GEN with the demolition of obsolete structures and associated restoration works.  The focus of the project is a 2.38 hectare area of land adjacent to the main entrance of the Nigg Energy Park.  In the short term, the clearance of this area of land will dramatically improve the appearance of the Energy Park entrance and its appeal to potential inward investors.

Councillor Iain Ross, chair of the Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee, said: “The Highland Council has promoted the redevelopment of Nigg for many years and when GEN finally secured the purchase of the yard late last year it provided an opportunity to work in partnership to deliver much needed jobs in the Highlands and create a multi-user industrial facility that the Highlands and Scotland can be proud of. 

“Over the last four years the Council has carefully invested over £5m VDLF grant monies from the Scottish Government. This has resulted in over 20 hectares of vacant and derelict land being brought back into productive use for affordable housing and commercial purposes.  This VDLF grant to Global Energy Nigg illustrates the Council’s ongoing commitment to stimulating sustainable economic growth in the Highlands and unlocking the potential of brownfield sites.”

Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment said: “I am pleased to announce that in working with The Highland Council we are able to provide further public investment of £630,000 to help support the transformation of the former Nigg yard into an important energy and renewables hub. The recent announcement of enterprise area status should enable significant inward investment to be secured at Nigg.”