What Next for Caithness

[mickey boy]

People in the county are wondering why all these retail units are coming to Caithness and new housing developments are springing up in the Thurso area at a pace that does not reflect the current situation in Dounreay.

There have been a large number of local well qualified engineers going to Aberdeen with massive money incentivies in Oil & Gas to the detriment of the county.

There is a BIG recruitment drive by Agencies in Aberdeen - what for you may ask !

There is speculation that a new satelllite building will be located in Caithness, OIL & Gas related, to keep engineers from travelling to Aberdeen undertaking work that could be done in Caithness. :confused

[DarkAngel]

Yes someone on Caithness.Org mentiond that the other week..Not too sure think its a few threads back now..Wonder what is "REALLY" going on???:confused

[Fran]

I think oil is coming to Caithness and will give locals a lot of employment.
The Reach Exploration company are to start drilling and testing for oil to the immediate south west of lybster and hope to build an oil terminal there, hence all the new houses, shops and people moving north.
see the caithnessbusinessco.uk/article.php?id=378 and www.reachexploration.co.uk (http://www.reachexploration.co.uk)

[Jeemag_USA]

I think oil is coming to Caithness and will give locals a lot of employment.
The Reach Exploration company are to start drilling and testing for oil to the immediate south west of lybster and hope to build an oil terminal there, hence all the new houses, shops and people moving north.
see the caithnessbusinessco.uk/article.php?id=378 and www.reachexploration.co.uk (http://www.reachexploration.co.uk [/quote)

Any new jobs or income I am sure would be fantastic, I hope it is something that will be done with a long term future, that is to say that they build something that could be used for something else like sea exploration should it fall flat on its face. I would hate for Wick or Thurso to end up expanding then emptying like some other towns did further south on the east coast.

[garycs]

Caithness must be quite attractive to companies wishing to relocate or expand for several reasons:

Land and property is relatively inexpensive so overheads can be reduced, it also tends to mean that salaries can be lower than in other areas as your employees are not saddled with £150k mortgages.

There are two decent sized centres of population with a skilled but under exploited labour force.

Financial incentives are undoubtedly available, and as Dounreay declines such support will increase.

Road communications are improving.

Data communications are as good as anywhere in the UK.

If there are significant oil finds then that only adds to the area's energy producing potential and scope for investment.

Tourism is only in its infancy, I know somone on here recently described Caithness as a "dump", however many visitors I've spoken to are in awe of the seascapes, wide open views, generally clement weather, wildlife, ancient and recent history. If only the relevant agencies could put a little effort into promoting the area properly, instead of a brief mention as the place to catch a ferry to Orkney, then the sector may start to grow.

Overall Caithness doesn't need a huge expansion, but one or two larger investments combined with steady growth across all sectors would offset Dounreay's decline and ensure a prosperous future in the longer term.

Just my thoughts on the subject ;)

[dozerboy]

Just because some new shops have arrived doesn't have to mean that anything is about to happen. Maybe retailers are now realising that Caithness has been an untapped market. There may be some oil or gas in South East Caithness, but I wouldn't guarantee that many jobs will go to locals. I would imagine the big oil companies will just move other employees, who already work away from home either offshore, or else where in the country.

[MadPict]

A nice new nuclear power station to help provide the English with lots of lovely light and heat....