A maximum of £20,000 will be used from the Aberdeenshire harbours revenue budget towards the costs of an international environmental organisation’s AGM.
Banff and Macduff will be the host towns for the KIMO International meeting and conference in October.
Kommunenes Internasjonale Miljøorganisasjon (KIMO) works with local authorities to protect, preserve and enhance northern Europe’s marine and coastal environment.
Founded in 1990, the former Grampian Regional Council was one of the four starting members, which explains why the area is of importance to the group.
Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee this week approved a maximum of £20,000 from the harbours revenue budget towards staging the event.
Services director Stephen Archer told the councillors during their meeting that Banff and Macduff had been chosen as the “most appropriate location” given the wide range of accessible sites of interest.
His list included Macduff Harbour and Marine Aquarium, Macduff Shipyards, Portsoy Boat Shed, Troup Head and Peterhead Fish Market.
The councillors were also told that the KIMO International Conference and AGM would feature local study tours, a formal dinner and ceilidh dance.
The founding members with Grampian Regional Council were the Shetland Islands Council, Esbjerg in Denmark and Vågsøy in Norway.
Now, the organisation has 83 member municipalities in eight countries, representing more than five million residents across Europe.
Aberdeenshire Council’s current KIMO board members are Provost Bill Howatson, who chairs the group, along with councillors Charles Buchan and Mark Findlater.
