A £5milliom action plan to boost four ailing north-east towns has been unveiled.
Aberdeenshire Council has repeatedly committed to boosting Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Macduff and Banff, and has now come forward with proposals to do so.
The cash – from the authority’s regeneration pot – would be boosted by £142million of funding from private sector investment and European and government grand funding.
Proposals include drastically altering Peterhead Harbour, and nurturing existing initiatives to drive people back into town centres.
The £2.1million for Fraserburgh – which was rocked by Young’s Seafood axing hundreds of jobs last year – will be used to transform the town into a centre of seafood excellence. The authority hopes to promote fish products from the town to markets across the world.
The plan includes hiring a team of chefs to create seafood recipes, and making a “seafood park” where fish processors could be based together.
In Banff, £435,000 will be spent to boost the local economy by improving the cycle network and supporting the return of a traditional silversmith business.
And in Macduff – where the local authority wants to raise the profile of the aquarium to visitors and schools – £505,000 of regeneration money will be spent.
Last night, Macduff councillor Mark Findlater said the plans were about “future proofing” the towns.
“There’s obviously ‘big ticket’ items in there, such as the aquarium, but it’s more than just that,” he said.
“There’s the whole idea to regenerate. It’s a living document that we’re going to keep going with, because we have to future proof and this is a really good start.
“In Macduff, we have to create an environment where businesses want to move in.”
Fraserburgh councillor Charles Buchan, a former fisherman, backed the authority’s vision to celebrate the town’s fishing industry.
“We have to play to our strengths,” he said.
“The whole rationale for the existence of Fraserburgh, why Alexander Fraser built Fraserburgh, is the presence of the sea. We have a good geographical position for maritime industries.
“The regeneration package doesn’t stand a fall on the seafood sector, however. There’s a lot of things in there that are for the good of the town.
“We’ve tried to cover a lot of different angles in it. We hope it improves the town centre and gives people a greater pride in the town.”
Ronnie McNab, the chairman of the local community council, added: “Personally, I’m all for anything that will help regeneration in Fraserburgh.
“The fishing sector is in decline just now, and it needs all the help it can get. Anything that can help should be looked at.”
The most expensive of the schemes is to redevelop Peterhead’s port, by deepening the inner harbour and creating a bigger fish market.
The £50million redevelopment was confirmed last month after the port authority secured funding from the EU and Scottish Government, but the local authority has set aside £100,000 to support the group in providing improved ship repair facilities.
Stephen Bruce, who runs a fish business out of the port, welcomed the initiative.
He said: “It’s good to see investment being made in the harbour.
“In the future, I think we’ll see the town being regenerated as a result of – and from – the harbour. It’s where most of the money is generated, and that’s the way it should be.”
It is estimated that the projects could create as many as 270 jobs, and launch more than 40 new businesses by the time they are complete.
The plan to dedicate funding to the projects will be discussed by councillors when they meet in Aberdeen on Thursday.
Local authority regeneration tsar Christine Webster has said the exact nature of the plans proposed by the council will need “refinement” prior to delivery.
“It should be recognised that transformational change neither comes quickly nor in one clear action, but is long-term and made up of dozens of contributory actions and changes by many,” she added.
