Plans for a spaceport in Sutherland, which could generate 400 jobs throughout the Highlands, have taken off.
Details of the venture will be revealed at public meetings during the next two months after a proposal of application for the design and build of the facility was lodged with Highland Council yesterday.
A formal application for planning consent will be submitted to the local authority at the end of December.
Public events will take place at Melness Community Centre on Wednesday October 2 and Monday November 25, each running from 3.30pm-8pm.
These are designed to enable anyone with an interest in the project to find out more, question the design team and developers, and comment on the plans before they are finalised.
Additional events will be held between these dates, and details posted online at www.spacehubsutherland.com where copies of the plans will also be published.
The £17.3 million spaceport will launch communications satellites into orbit from the Moine peninsula.
Roy Kirk, HIE’s Space Hub Sutherland project director, said he hoped many local people would take up the opportunity to find out more and offer valuable feedback on the proposals.
He said: “This is a hugely ambitious project, not only for Sutherland but for the whole of the UK.
“The British space sector is in a phase of expansion at present and the Highlands and Islands have the natural assets, skills base and supply chain expertise to capitalise on the huge opportunity this presents.”
