A 700-acre site at Port of Ardersier near Nairn – which was formerly used to build North Sea oil and gas platforms – has been put up for sale.
The site is being sold by Valad Europe and JLL on behalf of the joint administrators, KPMG with current planning permission in principle to establish ‘a port or port services for energy related uses’.
The site consists of 340 acres of developable area and a one-kilometre long deep water harbour, which is protected by a sand and shingle spit. The former owner, Port of Ardersier Ltd, was placed in administration late last year.
The site has planning permission and adopted local development plan allocation for a variety of land uses including residential and marina, industrial, port related and associated renewable energy options.
Formerly operating as the McDermott Yard since the early 1970s, the site was used to construct offshore platforms for use in the North Sea oil and gas industry and employed 4,500 people at its peak operation, before the port closed in 2001
Port of Ardersier Ltd was granted full consent from the Scottish Government in August 2014 to bring the site back into use. Since then the site has been cleared and remediated.
17 Feb 2016 Scottish Energy News
In 2014 Highlands council also granted granted permission for a residential-led mixed use development incorporating 2,000 houses, a hotel, 500 berth marina and retail and leisure facilities.
A JLL spokesman said: “The Port of Ardersier offers a fantastic opportunity to purchase a large scale, remediated strategic site with a live planning consent for a mixed use development.
“Given the growth of renewable energy in the North of Scotland, the site offers excellent medium to long-term planning potential for a variety of uses. Mixed development land opportunities of this scale are very few and far between in Scotland, particularly when set against one of the most beautiful backdrops in the UK.
“Once developed, the site will appeal to a wide range of potential buyers including international investors amid the increasing demand for renewable energy space”.
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