Global Energy gets planning approval for £200 million Green Freeport plant at Nigg
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A key meeting at Highland Council has agreed planning permission for a £200 million investment in what will become a very significant facility in the Inverness and Cromarty Firth green freeport.
Councillors on the local authority's north planning applications committee unanimously agreed the proposal at a special meeting earlier today.
Global Energy now has the permission to move forwards with the construction one of the largest buildings ever commissioned on the Cromarty Firth at its Nigg yard.
The proposal by Japanese manufacturing giant Sumitomo Electric Industries is expected to to deliver around 500 new jobs for the local area during the construction and operational phases.
The high-voltage cable factory is designed to service the increasing demand for trans-national subsea cables for the renewable energy sector, particularly for offshore wind farms.
Noise issues
But Cromarty residents in particular had concerns about the plans due to their ongoing noise complaints largely about the operation of vessels docked at Nigg with their engines, suggesting shore power as a solution.
Shore power provides electrical power to a vessel at berth allowing its main and auxiliary engines to be shut down – that means there would be less intrusive noise for Cromarty residents.
Global said it would look into that before the end of this financial year and if it is approved would be considered a win for local residents though it was not stipulated as a condition of planning permission.
The conditions of planning approval have been set so that “prior to the development becoming operational the applicant shall submit, for the written approval of the planning authority.”
They include a Noise Impact Assessment demonstrating that operational noise, including from vessels “will not have an adverse impact on existing noise sensitive properties.”
An operational noise management plan which sets out the proposals to reduce the impact of noise arising from this development including vessel noise and after that the development should progress in accordance with that approved plan
There should also be a construction noise management plan including details of mitigation measures, proposals for noise monitoring and complaints procedures, again development should continue in accordance with that.
Additionally construction hours of working are limited to 08:00-18:00 from Monday to Friday and on Saturday from 08:00-13:00 with no work Sundays, bank holidays or during the night – that includes deliveries.
Massive new facility
Now that has been agreed, Global and Sumitomo will aim to construct the main plant which will be housed in a large single building with two floors across a total footprint of 43,145 m2.
Its dimensions are that it would be 366.9m by 118.62m wide on the south elevation and the height ranges from 17.36m at the south end to 32.62m at the north end.
It also includes: a vertical cabling cooling extrusion tower of almost 45m high and a footprint of 1372 m2; warehouse of 2400 m2; shielding room building of 860.2 m2; large cable spooling drums; and offices and welfare facilities over two floors; road access and parking.
There will also be earth bunds and landscaping; on-site generation and electrical infrastructure; and a moveable cable gantry delivery system across the B9175 road for cable loading to a ship on the east side of the inner dock at the Port of Nigg.
Shore power
The objections from local communities on the Black Isle are unlikely to go away as they remain concerned about noise pollution, above all from an objection submitted by Cromarty and District Community Council.
Laying across the firth from Nigg, the Cromarty district community council (CC) said: “The proposed development does not align with the stated requirements for developments within a Green Freeport Zone.
“The development does not include optimal controls for the mitigation of air and noise emissions generated from berth vessels that will service the proposed plant, against a background of historic noise complaints by residents in Cromarty.
“The CC proposes that a requirement for the provision of shore power be included within any subsequent revisions to this planning.”
Several members of the public endorsed and augmented the community council objection and particularly supported making shore power a condition of planning consent.
Shore power provides electrical power to a vessel at berth allowing its main and auxiliary engines to be shut down – that means there would be less intrusive noise for Cromarty residents.
Another comment left on the application states that industrial noise from Nigg had a “disproportionate effect on the caseload of the Highland Council Environmental Health Team and places an avoidable burden on their budget.”
