Black Isle residents with Cromarty Firth rig noise complaints urged to make it official
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Concerned residents in a Highland village are calling on anyone with a noise complaint to make it official – amid concerns they are being treated with "contempt and derision".
After reporting sleepless nights due to a giant oil rig stationed only a few hundred metres from Cromarty, the area's community council has made a plea for residents to fill in a noise abatement form.
One local resident said people must engage with the process if they want the current "nuisance" to be checked by the Highland Council.
Jeremy Price, a former senior police officer, said that while the Ocean Endeavour rig has now left the port, the use of anchorage point 12 – the one nearest their homes – must be stopped.
He said: "I chose to come and live in Cromarty 12 years ago. Part of the area's charm is the mix between ancient and modern. I live in a house that is 17th century and my wife and I live closest to the rig.
"While the noise is a serious concern there are other things, such as the vibration from the rigs, light pollution and we are just constantly kept awake by the general disruption the rig brings.
"We can hear the tannoy on the rig, people's voices and we can also hear all the drilling and other work that is going on. It is very difficult to get any rest from it. There is an impact on one's health when the noise is continuous – there is a constant low hum from the rig. "
He said: "What we want is for anchorage point 12 not to be used. It is not only the noise from the rig that is the problem – it is the associated noise that goes with it, from tugs and machinery. At the moment the whole community is treated with contempt and derision. We get the same old responses but there has never been any action."
A spokesperson for the Port of Cromarty Firth said: “A rig arrived into the Cromarty Firth last month for safety critical repairs and these were undertaken by a host of supply chain businesses and supported more than 70 jobs locally.
"The oil and gas industry continues to be a major source of employment for the local and regional workforce, as it has been for over 40 years.
“As with all rig activity in the Cromarty Firth, the Port worked closely with the rig operator to ensure a wide range of noise mitigation measures were put in place to minimise noise and disturbance. We work hard to obtain the best balance of stakeholder interests to achieve a ‘common good’ for all.”
Using Cromarty Firth as rig graveyard is not oil right
