‘Orbex has behaved appallingly’: Veteran Sutherland councillor slams company after stop notice put on Sutherland Spaceport
A veteran Sutherland councillor has said that Orbex has “behaved appallingly” by ditching Sutherland Spaceport in favour of SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst, Shetland.
North, west and central Sutherland councillor Hugh Morrison said that “serious questions” would have to be asked about how the company had operated and how much public money had gone into the project.
He pointed out that Orbex had even advertised jobs last month.
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Mr Morrison, who lives in Durness where he runs the Smoo Cave Hotel, said: “The decision is disappointing to say the least and some people will feel very let down while others will be happy.
“The spaceport split the community and at the end of the day it seems to have been for nothing. People have been blindsided and we need to know how much public money has gone into this scheme, including through the planning process and any relevant grants to the company.”
Cllr Morrison added: “The infrastructure work is well under way; the road is more than three quarters built, and people will be asking some very serious questions about how this company has behaved and the 40 plus desperately needed jobs that were promised for the area.
“Sutherland has again been lost in space, this time literally. The company has behaved appallingly.”
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