Local MP welcomes date being set for seabed lease announcement
November 5, 2009 12:00 AM
Those companies who have been successful in their bids for seabed leases in the Pentland Firth will be announced at the end of March.
The news came at a meeting in London attended by a representative of the Crown Estate as well as local MP John Thurso, the Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy, Eann Sinclair from the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership and Roy Kirk from HIE.
John Thurso, who has been critical of delays by the Crown Estate, warmly welcomed the news and expressed his view that the meeting had been particularly useful and constructive.
The Crown Estate struggled to process the bids as there was stronger interest and higher quality bids than it had first anticipated. It underlined its commitment to making sure the area supplied at least 700 megawatts of energy by 2020
John said: "Concerns around the licensing process were raised and the Crown Estate addressed them and pointed out that there are very good reasons why it is necessary to make the final announcement about the leases in March next year. It was very worthwhile having this meeting. We talked frankly and resolved some of the perceived difficulties. Everyone involved wants this project brought to fruition as quickly, effectively and competently as possible."
The Crown Estate, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Caithness and North Sutherland Partnership all agreed they should meet on a regular basis in the future to make sure that any difficulties dealt with.
Related Links
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats