Feumaidh na cothroman mòr ann an cumhachd uaine a bhith air an roinn a-mach gu ceart

Le dòchas gun tèid 10,000 obair a chruthachadh agus teachd a-steach de £3 billean, tha mòran a’ coimhead air adhart gu mòr ris a’ pròiseact seo a thoirt beò.

Fiù ’s dha coimhearsnachdan mar Neig agus Ard nan Saor, a fhuair buannachd nach beag bho ola a’ Chuain a Tuath, ’s e rud mòr a bhios ann, a’ chiad eisimpleir shoilleir mu na dh’fhaodas a thighinn tro chothroman cosnaidh ann an roinn na cumhachd uaine.

Ged a tha am pàirt seo dhen dùthaich air buannachd gu leòr fhaicinn gu h-eachdraidheil, tha iad cuideachd air fulang bhon chrìonadh a tha air a thighinn bho chionn ghoirid, na seann chruinn-ola a tha nan seasamh nan cnapan meirge ann an Linne Chrombaigh nan eisimpleir air an atharrachadh tha dol a thighinn agus a tha air tighinn.

Ach, dha mòran choimhearsnachdan eile chan eil ann ach an t-seann duan. Nuair a bheir thu sùil air fàs Inbhir Nis, cha chanadh tu g’ eil taic a dhìth agus aig an aon àm tha na coimhearsnachdan nas fhaide a-muigh air an iar a’ fulang le crìonadh sluaigh agus cion chothroman obrach.

’S dòcha g’ eil adhbharan matha carson a tha pròiseact na puirt uaine gu bhith stèidhichte mu thimcheall Linne Mhoireibh is Inbhir Nis – cothrom air cidhichean agus bun-structair eile – ach bu chòir na h-ùghdarrasan a bhith smaoineachadh mu ciamar a thèid na buannachdan a sgaoileadh nas fhaide na crìochan an Eilein Dhuibh. ’S chan eil sin idir mu dheidhinn a bhith toirt an luchd-obrach air falbh bho àitichean eile, mar a tha air a bhith a’ tachairt fad iomadach ginealach.

Fhad ’s a tha port uaine na Gàidhealtachd a’ gluasad nas fhaisge, tha suidheachadh eile a’ tighinn am bàrr nas fhaide thall air an iar.

Tha aon de na tuathan-gaoithe mara a tha san amharc gu bhith trì mìle bho chosta Leòdhais. Le sin, shaoileadh tu gum biodh còmhradh gu leòr ga dhèanamh leis a’ choimhearsnachd ionadail, ach an àite sin chan eil ach beàrn mhòr far a bheil còir aig fiosrachadh a bhith.

Tha an companaidh a tha air cùlaibh a’ phròiseict, Northland à Canada, ag ràdh g’ eil buannachdan gu bhith ann dhan choimhearsnachd, ach chan eil fhios aig duine cò ris a tha sin gu bhith coltach.

Dhiùlt croitearan ann an Siabost cead a thoirt dhan chompanaidh am fearann aca a chleachdadh son crann aimsir a stèidheachadh agus tha seo a’ daingneachadh nam faireachdainn nach eil an companaidh air gu leòr a dhèanamh son daoine a thoirt leotha.

Dìreach mar port uaine na Gàidhealtachd, tha e a’ sealltainn cho cudromach ’s a tha e gun tig na buannachdan a sgaoileadh a-mach gu rèidh agus gu cothromach, gu h-àraidh dhan fheadhainn is feumaiche air. Ach, mar a tha cuisean a’ coimhead, cha deach na leasanan ann an eachdraidh idir ionnsachadh.

English-language version:

To understandable fanfare, a key milestone in the establishment of a “green freeport” in the Highlands was reached this week when legislation was concluded to facilitate its low-tax status. With projections of more than 10,000 jobs and £3 billion of investment in order to support the growing renewables industry in the north of Scotland, particularly offshore windfarms, the sense of optimism is tangible.

Even for communities like Nigg and Ardersier, which have witnessed the benefits of the North Sea oil bonanza, it could be a game-changer, the first tangible evidence of the green electricity revolution creating a new era of opportunity. While the Inverness Basin has historically reaped the benefits of the fossil fuel industry, it has also been at the receiving end of the downturn, the rustic relics of decommissioned oil rigs lining the Cromarty Firth a visible and unedifying monument to a changing of the guard.

Yet, for many communities beyond the confines of Inverness and the Black Isle, it’s a case of plus ca change. The continued and rapid growth of Inverness, with surging property prices to match, suggests when it comes to inward investment it’s not exactly lacking, yet at the same time the peripheral communities further west are witnessing population decline and a chronic lack of employment opportunities.

There may be very good logistical and practical reasons as to why the freeport is centred on the Cromarty Firth – available ports and infrastructure being the most obvious – but the challenge this time for the authorities involved, including economic agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise, is to ensure the benefits are shared across the region, to avoid yet another centralisation of opportunity. That means a lot more than sucking away the working population from other areas, as happened in the past.

While the prospect of a green port in the east Highlands edges ever closer, another dynamic is unfolding further out west. Of the 17 planned offshore wind sites around the coast of Scotland, one will see the nearest turbine being sited just three miles off the west coast of Lewis. Given its proximity, you’d think community engagement would be high on the agenda and a priority, yet what the local residents are left with is a vacuum of information. And there’s nothing nature abhors more.

Northland, the Canadian company which hopes to develop the site, insist they are committed to community benefit and input, yet the crucial detail is missing, creating growing unease and opposition. This week crofters in the nearby village of Shawbost rejected the company’s proposal, complete with an attractive compensatory offer, to allow them access to their common land for the siting of a meteorological mast.

The stance taken by the grazings committee will support the view that Northland have failed to win “hearts and minds” and are set to face a wall of local opposition. Just like the issue surrounding the Cromarty Firth freeport, there needs to be a real assessment of how the benefits can be shared equitably and particularly for those most deserving. Unfortunately, however, the lessons from history seem difficult to grasp. Plus ca change indeed.