Expert to give advice on life after Dounreay

Published on Tuesday 8 July 2008 22:16

THE leader of one of North America's most successful economic development programmes is helping to devise a way forward for the Highland economy post-Dounreay.

Dr Gerald Gordon, the president of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority in Virginia, has been asked to recommend ways to maintain and develop skilled jobs in the region when the nuclear site shuts down.

Decommissioning Dounreay is due to take 25 years, at a cost of 2.9 billion. It will mean losing 2,500 jobs on site and another 1,000 which are dependent on the nuclear industry.

Dr Gordon is working at the North Highland College, part of the proposed University of the Highlands and Islands, assisted by Lord Maclennan, chairman of the North Highland Initiative (NHI). The NHI is working on ways to develop the North of Scotland's economy.

He said he wants to explore further the region's huge potential for renewable energy and find ways to attract investment.

He said: "My real role is to identify the strategic options in both the short and longer terms, and identify the companies which might get involved. There is a reservoir of engineering and technical skills across a multitude of fields in this region and it is vital that they are retained as a business asset of the north Highlands."