On the road in Argyll and Bute: innovation, industry and island communities
From marine innovation to island communities, our Chief Executive Stuart Black's visit to Argyll and the Islands showcased the impact of investment, partnership and local enterprise across the region. Read more in his blog.
This week I joined our chair Angus Campbell on a visit to Argyll and Bute.
On Tuesday we had a tour of Camas House, a recently completed £8.1m building at the European Marine Science Park in Dunstaffnage near Oban.
We commissioned this facility to meet continuing demand for top class premises from companies associated with the marine science sector. It follows the success of Malin House next door, which was completed in 2012 and is now home to 13 companies with a combined total of around 70 employees.
This was our next stop. There we met Dr Martin Sayer, founder and managing director of Tritonia Scientific Ltd. We’ve worked with Tritonia over the years, including helping them buy a new survey vessel.
The company has 15 colleagues working at Malin House and specialises in underwater surveying, environmental monitoring and advanced photogrammetry. It is now 51% owned by Ocean Ecology Ltd, which is also based at Malin House and has 24 employees there. They provide marine ecological services, support environmental impact assessments, and deliver monitoring programmes.
We met Michael Redford, head of analytical services at OE, who explained the bulk of their business revolves around aquaculture and increasingly offshore wind. This was one of the first companies to pioneer the use of marine eDNA technology in a commercial context. eDNA is used to study biodiversity and monitor change in marine ecosystems, including water quality and the early detection of invasive species.
Next, we met Steve Ham of SAMS Enterprise, the commercial trading subsidiary of the Scottish Association of Marine Science, which is based next to EMSP. SAMS Enterprise has a growing headcount – currently 22 – focusing on large scale marine science consultancy, including surveys and monitoring, as well as seaweed development and snow and ice measurement to monitor climate change. We have a memorandum of understanding with them and have worked together on commercialising their services.
In the evening in Oban we met Argyll and Bute Council chief executive Pippa Milne and council leader Jim Lynch. We work very closely with the council to support economic growth, community resilience and place-based investment, so it was useful to catch up.
On Wednesday we met with the area team in Lochgilphead to hear about their priorities for the year ahead. Then we went on to Cairndow where we met with Owen Hutchins of Cooke Scotland.
We discussed our £1.9m support for their £22m investment at their Loch Fyne hatchery. Construction started in March and due to complete towards the end of the year. We are supporting them with technology associated with the project.
Next stop was Dunoon, where we met Greg Girard, a board member of the Dunoon Burgh Hall Trust. We’ve worked with the Trust for several years, supporting the preservation of the Grade B listed building as a venue with social and economic benefits for the community. After major redevelopment, the hall reopened in 2017 and has been an integral part of community activity since.
We then visited Shearwater Marine, the largest employer in the Sandbank area of Dunoon and a company we’ve work with since it was founded in 1992. Shearwater has ambitions to be a world leader training provider, maintaining Scotland's place at the forefront of the diving sector. Its main activities are fabrication and international specialist diving maintenance services. It also operates a Professional Diving Academy to provide HSE recognised commercial diving training. We recently supported the company with a new paint shop and fabrication equipment and it was great to see this in action.
Then it was back to Loch Fyne, this time to the south where we visited Otter Ferry Seafish, another one of our clients. We met Alasdair Barge, managing director, who gave us an update on the business. The company is now owned by the Norwegian Amar Group and employs 17 people in this rural part of Cowal. We’ve supported Otter Ferry Seafish with succession planning and R&D projects relating to halibut production. We’ve supported them through their 60 years and this week we announced a £47,400 contribution to their latest R&D project to demonstrate that juvenile halibut can be grown successfully and commercially in sea cages in Scottish waters. We look forward to hearing how this progresses over the next two years.
On Thursday we headed over to Bute. Our first visit was a tour of Rothesay Pavilion, currently under redevelopment. This is a major transformational project led by Argyll and Bute Council on behalf of a trust to create a redeveloped arts, culture, sports and community venue for the island. We have approved a contribution of up to £1.75m due to the associated economic and social benefits, including jobs, improving the town centre environment and providing cultural and educational opportunities for locals and visitors.
We then visited The Gather Deli where Erin Murphy has established a thriving business using Bute venison and other local products. She is also on our new HIE Impact Women leadership course. Next stop was John Mackirdy Limited. This family run enterprise was established in 1870 as a local logistics company serving the dairy sector, forestry and general haulage. We recently supported the company to develop a new warehouse as a key supply chain hub for its main customer Bute Island Foods.
Community development has always been key to our remit, so it was particularly good to catch up with the Bute Community Land Company. This was established in 2009 to pursue the acquisition of Rhubodach forest at the north end of the island.
In recent years we’ve been working with the group on self-catering units, forest access paths, community and education activities and a ten-year forest development plan. This year, they’ve also acquired the Grade A-listed Winter Gardens building in Rothesay with support from the Scottish Land Fund. Meeting the chair Richard Whitcomb, board members and Winter Gardens steering group member Dorothy McDonald here for lunch rounded off our area visit.
Getting around the region on visits like this gives us a great insight into our work with businesses, inward investors, communities and partners, and adds to our broader understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing each area. We are extremely grateful to those who made time for us and to the area team for co-ordinating the itinerary.
Our next area visit will be to the Outer Hebrides. Tioraidh an dràsta, bye for now.
Stuart Black
Chief Executive
Stuart was appointed as HIE's Chief Executive in January 2022 having held the role of Interim Lead Area Manager previously. Originally from Inverness, he is a graduate of the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, where he gained a doctorate in town and regional planning. Stuart began his career with the University of Aberdeen, before joining HIE for the first time in 1996, as head of economics. Between then and 2008, he held several posts covering different parts of the organisation’s remit. These included local enterprise company chief executive, director of strengthening communities, and director of global connections. From 2008 to 2020, he was a member of the senior team at the Highland Council, initially as director of planning and development, and later as executive chief officer for transformation and economy.