Consent secured to bring Ardersier back into use

The area was a site of industrial activity from the 1970s until 2001

The owners of the former oil and gas industry fabrication yard at Ardersier have secured permission to bring the site back into use.

Port of Ardersier Ltd has been granted full consent from the Scottish government.

The company already had planning permission in principle from Highland Council in place to construct offshore wind farms at the site.

The work has the potential to create 2,500 jobs.

The site at Whiteness Head, west of Nairn, is the former McDermott Yard which opened in the early 1970s for the fabrication and construction of offshore platforms for use in the North Sea gas and oil industry.

At its height, the yard employed about 4,500 people but it closed in 2001 as demand dropped.