Highlands and Islands residents split over £100bn investment plan

The National

27-05-2025

Not all see it that way, as I report below. The scale is described as 'unprecedented' for the Highlands and Islands, possibly even the whole of Scotland and much of the UK by the report's joint commissioner, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), with much investment coming by 2027.
It encompasses onshore and offshore wind energy projects with resulting pylons, transmission cables and substations; green hydrogen facilities; marine biotech such as tidal capture; space technology; life sciences studies; and infrastructure including road transport upgrades, mainly set to be driven by private sector investment.
Citing 251 planned development projects in the pipeline, 36,000 new housing units and 34,000 construction and operational jobs, this is said to far exceed other 'transformational' periods such as the post-war Highlands hydro development and oil and gas. Projects are dispersed across the region, including initiatives in Orkney and Shetland, Caithness and Sutherland, Lewis, Argyll and Kintyre, the Inner Moray Firth and down the Great Glen.
Forbes chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government's Convention of the Highlands and Islands in Strathpeffer, Ross-shire, this month to view a presentation of the report alongside HIE chief executive Stuart Black, Highland Council leader Raymond Bremner and members of the regional economic partnership he heads.
Forbes said: 'The challenge is now to capitalise on this promise. I look forward to working alongside our public and private-sector partners to deliver on this enormous potential, creating thousands of top-quality jobs for future generations.'
Bremner also welcomed the report, highlighting the crucial role of local authorities and public-sector bodies in fostering sustainability. 'We stand on the brink of a once-in-a-generation opportunity for economic transformation,' he said.
The meeting was sparsely attended by the public but caught the attention of Conservative and Unionist Party Highland Councillor Helen Crawford (Aird and Loch Ness Ward).
She later said: 'Decision-makers around the table were asked to identify to what extent they could become enablers, identify what the blockages are and how to overcome them.'
Specifically on renewable energy proposals which largely drove the report, Crawford added: 'Two parts of Highland life are absent when decision-makers talk about energy infrastructure in the Highlands. Firstly, tourism, which is the backbone of the Highland economy, and secondly the communities expected to host the major energy infrastructure, in particular the upgraded transmission lines, substations, battery storage and major wind turbines. That needs to change with both tourism and our impacted communities given a place at the table when we make decisions about this.'
Local activist groups were quick to condemn the report carried out by research specialist Ekosgen, a Glasgow-based consultancy related to a Manchester firm with several English council board members.
Dan Bailey of campaign group Better Cable Route (Strathpeffer & Contin) described the convention meeting as 'a talking shop between unaccountable quangos, politicians who parrot industry publicity, and multinational energy companies with their eyes on vast profits'.
He said it smacks of deals being made at the expense of residents.
He went on: 'You cannot have a fair and green economy without involving the people at the sharp end of the energy transition – the people who have to live with all this development. We will bear the negative impact of a seemingly endless wave of new power lines, substations, storage facilities and wind farms, yet see precious little benefit. Local communities are consistently sidelined by the industry and our elected representatives alike.'
After presenting the report at the Strathpeffer convention, Martin Johnson, HIE director of strategy and regional economy, said that while its concept of a collaborative, holistic and place-based approach was critical in realising the benefits of investment opportunities, 'engaging with communities was not what this [report] was.'
He said: 'In the real world this happens through engagement between local authorities and key businesses where the development is taking place and through the planning process.'
While conceding that sectors such as tourism and food and drink offered good opportunities in the Highlands, Johnson said the current report was more concerned with transformation of scale rather than what he termed localised and incremental businesses.
'We announced this report to raise awareness across the region on what does 'big' look like and opportunities for the future, including housing and jobs,' he said. Johnson said about a year of research went into the report, partly in the context of the UK Government's clean energy and decarbonisation 'net-zero' policy.
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On the 251 projects, 'researchers talked to project owners about what they were planning, the timescales, where the projects were placed from ideas to final investment decisions'.
According to HIE analyses, the UK energy grid upgrade currently under consideration is a critical factor for its investment projects.
In the Highlands, electricity infrastructure is controlled by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSE), whose expected investment of more than £22bn in Highland grid upgrades is included in the report's £100bn projection.
Meanwhile, grid pricing of wholesale electricity sits with the UK Government, with reform expected this summer.
At the same time, SSE is expected to miss 2030 net-zero targets while cutting £3bn in renewable investment, according to several media reports.
The UK's high energy pricing and uncertain growth are major variables for HIE's Highland prospects. However, Johnson asserted that HIE's report findings give private-sector investors the confidence they need on house building, such as in the Moray Firth area and with prospects of Highland re-population with property development and job potential.
He expected investment in supply chains as well as capital projects that include the UK's Great British Energy and overseas firms such as Japan's Sumitomo Electric Ltd which has established a subsea cable manufacturing plant at the Port of Nigg on the Cromarty Firth.
HIE would not be drawn, however, on Highland business prospects of trade with the European electricity market as discussions continue between the UK and EU under their 'reset' engagement on energy.
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Observers noted that the UK would have to follow EU rules to seal the deal, with the prospect of re-energising carbon trading under the EU emissions trading system.
Highland residents I spoke to are critical of the HIE report.
Shaun Ince, a Strathpeffer resident, biologist and retired academic, said: 'It looks a bit like pie in the sky investment. The environmental aspect worries me. If it's going to be 'big development' that should be well controlled with the right planning. There's a lot of beautiful land and communities that could be destroyed if you're not careful.'
John Heathcote, from the village Contin, is an environmental advocate and geologist and was a former principal specialist at Dounreay nuclear site in Caithness.
He said: 'My immediate reaction is not positive – no-one has asked us if we want growth to this extent. At the moment the Highlands is a very different place to live compared to an English city. Do we want this difference to disappear?
'We do, however, need to think about how we can manage modern services with a scattered population, where schools are too small to be viable and medical services are limited. But it is not clear that the proposed growth will fix this. Personally, I think that we have to move on from the growth agenda'.
For her part, Crawford called for a 'Highland Convention in the Glens' next month in response to the HIE report, claiming there are seven community councils in support.
She said: 'The likely speed of transformational change, as outlined in that paper, is enormous. It is more important now, than ever before, that our impacted communities come together and speak with a combined voice on behalf of those who are living in the areas that are being adversely impacted.'
It seems a 192-page report is going to have political, societal and business implications – and generate very different views – well into the future in the Highlands and Islands.