'We have been left worse off than before': Tongue Community Council slams Orbex over environmental damage and wants any money recovered from ill-fated Sutherland Spaceport project to be spent in the area
A north coast community council has slammed Orbex over its decision to mothball the Sutherland Spaceport project.
Tongue Community Council said the company had left the area “worse off” than it was before the project began, with damage done to the infrastructure and the “pristine natural environment".
Orbex has shelved Sutherland Spaceport in favour of SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, leaving the access road to the spaceport site on the A’Mhoine peninsula, west of Tongue, only partially completed.
Its decision means the prospect of high-quality jobs for the area is now gone.
The community council, which supported the spaceport, is now calling for any public money recovered from the project to be invested in north Sutherland to restore the area affected by the spaceport road works.
READ ALSO:
Orbex faces calls to pay back £14.6m public money ploughed into mothballed Sutherland Spaceport
Secretary Colin McDonogh made members’ feelings clear in no uncertain terms in a letter to the three North, West and Central Sutherland ward councillors, as well as constituency MSP Maree Todd, seven other MSPs, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Caithness and Sutherland area manager Eann Sinclair.
The full text of Mr McDonogh’s letter is as follows: “Following the decision by Orbex to pause work on the Sutherland spaceport, we feel that our fragile community has been left worse off than before the project started.
“We have had to put up with the inconvenience and damage to infrastructure from heavy construction traffic and, despite all the care taken, there will have been a negative impact from the development on a pristine natural environment.
“The few jobs created in our area through the project have been lost so that we have seen no benefit from the millions of pounds of public investment.
“A spokesperson from HIE has pointed out that “innovative rockets will still be both manufactured and launched into orbit from locations in the Highlands and Islands” and Phil Chambers, CEO of Orbex has said that Orbex are “still committed to the North of Scotland at our facilities in Forres”.
Most people living in our community do not consider Forres to be in the “North of Scotland,” and we are extremely concerned by this rhetoric which would seem to imply that Sutherland doesn’t matter and has been sacrificed.
The First Minister John Swinney has acknowledged that the recoupment of public investment (£14.6m) is "completely reasonable”. We feel that it is also completely reasonable that any funding recouped is invested in north Sutherland.
“Orbex have also admitted that this decision will free up resources allowing the company to focus on launch vehicle development.
“Maintaining the lease allows Orbex to do nothing to repair the damage done to this globally rare natural habitat.
“It appears that they do not even intend to continue to monitor the site for any adverse impact from the development on the local ecosystem.
“Surely these savings should be directed towards mitigating the harm to the environment already done by the project and in taking measures to restore the affected area.
“We urge you to ensure that our area is not left further disadvantaged by this project and that the investment which was meant for our area does actually reach us and bring tangible benefits.”
We have an incredible new subscription offer beginning this month. Use this code - CAROLINEMCMORRAN- and you can enjoy a year of unlimited digital access for just £10. That gives you unlimited access to the Northern Times website plus those of all other HNM titles, as well as access to the HNM app and digital newspaper e-edition access
