Nigg Bay

Not to be confused with Nigg Bay, Aberdeen.

Nigg Bay is a large relatively shallow sandy bay, consisting of mudflat, saltmarsh and wet grassland, located at the north east coast of the Cromarty Firth and is 5 miles to the east of Invergordon, in the district of Ross and Cromarty and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. During low tide, the Sands of Nigg are exposed. Nigg Bay can be said to start at Balintraid pier - probably the oldest pier on the Cromarty Firth built by Thomas Telford in 1824. There is a wartime mining base alongside the pier and a series of coastal gun emplacements on the road to North Sutor.

Villages

On the south east coast of the Nigg Bay lies the villages and parish of Nigg, which was given its name by the bay, with the village of Pitcalnie, further up the coast. On the north west shore of the bay, are the villages of Milton at the east side of the shore, Barbaraville almost directly across from the fabrication yard and Balintraid further west.

A ferry links the villages of Cromarty on the Black Isle to Nigg Ferry just prior to it opening into the Moray Firth.

Industry

At the south east corner of the bay, is the former oil platform construction and fabrication yard, known as the Nigg yard, owned by KBR, the yard being operated by KBR Caledonia Ltd. It was opened in 1972 by a joint venture of Brown & Root and Wimpey Construction. The fabrication yard was "mothballed" some years ago and was put up for sale by KBR in 2006. In September 2008 KBR was reported to be in advanced negotiations with Birmingham-based decommissioning specialists, DSM.^[1]

After the last Council elections in May 2007 the newly elected SNP group on Highland council took up the challenge of trying to secure the future of the Yard and the, then, Planning and Development Chairman, SNP Cllr Drew Hendry and officials set about meeting the various parties to urge them to thrash out a commercial conclusion to sale negotiations. He began a process, through Highland Council, and with the guidance of the Scottish Government and the help of HIE to create a new Masterplan for Nigg to lay out the opportunities for investor and simultaneously gained cross party agreement for the council to begin compulsory purchase preparation. Sunday Herald article

Another motion, raised by the SNP Councillors Drew Hendry and Alan Torrance, was passed at Highland Council on 4 September 2008 (instructing officer to take any legal action needed to further the plan) and shortly after access was granted to complete the Nigg plan.

The Draft Nigg Masterplan was released for consultation on 23 September 2008.

The same day, with the help of SNP Councillor Maxine Smith, Member for the Cromarty Firth Ward and SNP Highland Councillor Roy Pedersen outlined SNP Highland Council Group research, conducted with renowned maritime expert, Professor Alf Baird, covering opportunities for the building of Catamaran type replacement ferries (which are required for Scottish routes) at the Nigg yard for which the site may be highly suitable Press and Journal Article

In addition to this there is also an oil depot operated by Talisman Energy.

See also

• Nigg Rock in the South Orkney Islands was named in 1903 by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition under William S. Bruce, as his wife was born in Nigg Bay.
• Nigg Bay, A bay in the coast of Torry 0.5 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland

References

1. ^ "'Sleeping giant' site could bring 1,000 new jobs". Scottish Provincial Press Ltd.. http://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/4836/_Sleeping_giant__site_could_bring_1,000_new_jobs.html. Retrieved 2008-11-12.