Thanks to strategic planning and targeted investment, Scrabster has transformed in recent decades from a small fishing port to a crucial lynchpin in the North Highland economy. Here, we talk to some of the leaders who made it what it is today and ask: how did we get here?
Arriving at Scrabster today, visitors are greeted by the hum of an industrial port: vessels berthing at quay, cargo moving through port, tourists disembarking cruise ships – all set against the backdrop of the Pentland Firth, one of the UK’s most dynamic maritime corridors.
Yet much of what we see today began as little more than an ambitious idea. The story of Scrabster is not really about today. For decades, its development has been shaped by one simple principle: plan for tomorrow.
That spirit stretches all the way back to Viking times, when Norse fishermen adopted the rich fishing waters and natural shelter of Skarabolstadr, or ‘clifftop homestead’. By 1820, visionary civil engineer Thomas Telford had designed Scrabster’s first pier, establishing the foundations for more than two centuries of growth and investment.
That growth did not happen by accident, but by the ability of successive boards and management teams to scan the horizon, ensuring that Scrabster would be ready when the opportunities arrived.
A blueprint for growth
Casting his mind back over two decades, retired development manager Sandy Mackie is surprisingly specific about one key turning point. “We held a strategy day in the local Pentland Hotel in August 2007,” he recalls. “It was a beautiful sunny day, and Willie Calder – the Chairman at that time – laid out an ambitious vision for Scrabster to be more than it was then. He said, unless we have something in the shop window, we’re not going to attract anyone in.”
At that time, the Queen Elizabeth Quay was only four years old. Like many infrastructure projects, its delivery brought significant challenges and valuable lessons, but it diversified the harbour’s operations and positioned it to capture emerging industries.
Sandy continues: “As a port we owe a great deal to the foresight of Willie Calder. The Pentland meeting lay the blueprint for a development programme that would transform the port. One of Scrabster’s historic strengths is that it never had all its eggs in one basket: it had the ferry services but it also had fishing and several other income streams. However, we wanted to make it even stronger, adding more value to the local economy.”
Bang for our buck
The timing was fortuitous, with Sandy noting that his first day on the job was the launch day of the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership (today operating as Focus North), which sought to replace the projected job losses from the decommissioning of Dounreay. Scrabster’s proposed investments aligned with the wider needs of the region.
“From the very beginning we worked hard to engage not only the local community but also our prospective funders and the Scottish Government, to clearly articulate the importance of Scrabster to the local economy,” says Sandy. “That brought its own challenges, because we had multiple stakeholders and when you try to affect change, it’s a very human reaction to fear that we’re turning our backs on the past. Instead, we were laying out a path to the future, and we very quickly built up momentum.”
The first major investment was the transformation of the old fish market pier via the £17.6m Jubilee Quay development. This multifaceted project included the addition of pontoons for small vessels, improvements to fuel supplies, an extended pier capable of accommodating a diverse range of activities and the refurbishment of the old fish market to include refrigeration.
“We wanted to deliver maximum bang for our buck, for the port and the wider region,” says Sandy. “I think we achieved that, and my only regret is we had very little time to celebrate before we moved on to the next project!”
St Ola unlocks further growth
By this point, Tom Pottinger had taken the reins as Chairman, just a few months after having joined the Board. “They were just finishing up the Jubilee project and I found the whole process fascinating,” says Tom, who had considerable experience in public-facing organisations and a longstanding interest in engineering. “I threw my hat into the ring as Chairman and we got to work.”
Once again, the Trust was facing forward. “We saw a business opportunity to bring in much larger vessels to accommodate the oil industry and the expected growth in renewables,” says Tom. “The Jubilee had provided a deep-water berth but limited quay length, whereas the prospective St Ola project opened up a much wider customer base.”
The £18.7m development delivered 500m of deepwater berthing and an outer berthing face capable of accommodating vessels of up to 250m in length. The redeveloped pier also provides a deck area of 9,000m2 including a dedicated heavy lift area. Today, it attracts regular cruise ships and more than 10,000 cruise visitors each year.
“Our business case was predicated on an expected increase in the oil and gas industry and cruise traffic,” says Tom. “We also anticipated a growing role as an operations and maintenance base for offshore wind, opportunities that are only beginning to materialise now.
“On the flip side, we didn’t expect the level of activity in timber and cargo relating to onshore wind components, which has been huge. Ultimately, as a Trust port our task is to take a much longer-term view of the opportunities than you would might from the Board of a limited company.”
Due diligence
In the absence of a crystal ball, Trust ports must strike a balance between risk and investment. Both Tom and Sandy reflect on the myriad challenges of managing multimillion pound infrastructure programmes with several stakeholders, under the watchful eye of the wider community. Those challenges are amplified if – like the St Ola project – you throw in the small matter of a global pandemic. Tom smiles. “It was quite an undertaking. We were grateful that the NDA and HIE provided funding support for St Ola, as they did for Jubilee before it, so we had significant investment from both those organisations alongside funding from the harbour itself, and we worked very well together as a team to navigate the challenges along the way.”
For his part, Sandy describes the project as “a steep learning curve” but one that was positively shaped by past experience. “We put a huge amount of work in at the front end to de-risk the project, and that would be my advice to anyone else undertaking a project of this scale. That upfront effort is not wasted. We had so many plates spinning but the Board was very hands-on in dealing with them and to my dying breath I’ll be grateful to the Harbour Masters for keeping the port operational during that time.”
A community asset
Both Sandy and Tom clearly regarded themselves as custodians of the port, a responsibility they took very seriously. “One of the things that attracted me to Scrabster is that the port is effectively owned by, and managed for, the community,” says Tom. “That colours all your strategic decisions. For instance, we invested in a new ice plant in 2017 to support the fishing industry. It’s not a great money-spinner, but it washes its face, and we view it as part of our commitment to the fishing industry. Similarly, we have a strategy to develop property at the port and we’ve supported several local businesses to set up premises here.”
That strategy is a holistic one, positioning Scrabster as part of the fabric of the region. “I think harbours are underrated both as a commercial and a community asset,” reflects Tom, who talks warmly about his own connections to the harbour. “My late uncle, Malcolm Steven, had a fishing boat, so I remember being here as a youngster, getting a ‘fry’. Latterly I’d sail here with my daughter, and after my wife passed away Scrabster helped to keep my mind occupied in a very positive way.”
Similarly, Sandy says Scrabster was always part of his life – a place he visited regularly with his father – and his time on the Board afforded the opportunity to help shape its future. “You know when you’re writing these business plans that the world will be very different going forward, and you just have to forecast that as best you can,” he says. “What I do know is that the efforts of the Board, team and stakeholders have left the port much better positioned. They now have a key building block for whatever comes down the line. For me, there’s a little bit of Scrabster in my DNA, so to think it will still be standing long after I’m forgotten gives me a real sense of pride.”
