The £50 million community-led initiative will see the establishment of high-quality, ethical seaweed production farms in north west Sutherland and small pier-side based “innovation centres” to process the seaweed.

Proposals also include renting out space in the new centres to other businesses and building around 30 homes to address the local housing shortage.

Around 30 jobs are expected to be created.

Dr Cait Murray-Green, chief executive of Strategic Scientific Consulting, which prepared the plan, said: “I am quietly excited about what will happen over the coming months and years.”

She added: “We have come up with a pretty ambitious, not unrealistic, but definitely challenging solution to the problem of how do you get a viable seaweed industry in a remote and rural location while also meeting the needs of the community.”

The idea is to be “big, bold and ambitious” and aim to produce the target of 200 tonnes of seaweed a year immediately rather than working up to it in stages, Murray-Green said.

“It is only when we get to that scale that we will be able to serve the needs of existing but high-quality, fast-growing kelps would be planted during the winter at a number of sites not yet confirmed.

These would then be harvested in the spring before being processed at pier-side innovation centres at Lochinver, Scourie, and Kinlochbervie. Seaweed would also be collected from the shore.

The way the seaweed is processed, whether chilled, frozen or dried, would depend on the needs of the end user. Seaweed is used as a food source but also in cosmetics and skin care, as a fertiliser and for industrial applications.

Discussions have already taken place with buyers located in the UK and overseas who are interested in ethically-produced seaweed from Scottish waters

Dr Murray-Green said: “There will be additional space in the innovation centres to share with the community and other small companies not necessarily associated with seaweed. It could be a group of teenagers who want to create a software company. It could be other manufacturers.”

Strategic Scientific Consulting, together with seaweed farming consultancy firm Argyll Aquaculture, was commissioned to prepare a business plan after Highland Council granted community regeneration funding.

The scheme is being taken forward by a Seawood Interest Group made up of representatives from Assynt Development Trust, Kinlochbervie Community Development Company, Scourie Community Development Company and North West 2045.

Dr Murray-Green said the next phase will be to secure funding to take the business plan forward and to bring in experts to get the necessary licences and create tailored plans for the innovation centres and housing.

“There will be an open consultation in the community before the final selection of seaweed farm sites and licence applications are made,” she said.

“With a good wind behind us and everything falling into place at the right time, we would aim to start operations in 2028.”

The community company behind the plans also expect the housing to help support the ‘Scourie Rocks’ tourist exhibition planned for the village.

What the new community housing could look like. Image: Iain Livesley Architects/Highland Council Planning.

A community housing development on the North Coast 500 route has been approved in an effort to fix local depopulation as homes are snapped up and turned into holiday lets.

Scourie, in Sutherland, is among the villages which locals say have been suffering from region-wide depopulation.

The newly approved plans bring a number of ringfenced homes for residents.

Locals behind the project have called the new housing “great news” and “monumental” for Scourie.

Who is the team fighting Highland depopulation?

Chair of the Scourie Community Development Company, Neil MacDonald, said Scourie has been losing people of “all ages” – and depopulation is a “big thing” in the area.

The Loch Duart salmon farm, local estate and other businesses provide plenty of employment locally but there is not enough housing to support the jobs.

There is currently a waiting list for those looking to move into a new home in Scourie.

Starting with six new homes, and with Highland Council contributing another four, Mr Macdonald hopes this will go some way to reducing this.

“We should get affordable housing for working folk”, Mr MacDonald hopes.

“It’s ringfenced – you have to have work in the local area, or you have to have a family link.”

North Coast 500 lets limiting options for locals

Mr MacDonald added that since the 1980s around 50 council houses have been sold in Scourie, with around five houses remaining under council ownership.

Many of the houses have been turned into North Coast 500 holiday lets, because they “earn good money”.

He added the “balance has been upset for young folk getting a house easily in the village and to work in the area”.

Recently, representatives from Scourie Community Development Company, Assynt Development Trust and Kinlochbervie Community Company met with consultants Stevie Jerrad from Argyll Aquaculture and Cait-Murray, Scientific Strategic Consultancy, to investigate the viability of seaweed farming in NW Sutherland.

Open meetings followed in Scourie, Lochinver and Kinlochbervie where people raised concerns around housing, access to fresh food, the ability to bring benefits to the local community rather than seeing wealth resources drained to other areas. All meetings were well  attended; a full progress report will be made available in December; in the meantime, I attach a brief summary outlining the work in hand;

Stevie Jerrad;

• Tasked to investigate sites for shore harvesting of seaweeds, ground truthing for sea site locations, shore studies, discussions with personnel around harbour facilities (Lochinver and KLB) and attendance at meetings with community members and interested parties in Scourie, Lochinver and Kinlochbervie

Cait Murray;

• Tasked to investigate concepts and suggestions around company structure, market opportunities for all potential and end products, begin scheduling meetings with representatives to assess volume requirements and processing needs

What’s the Plan;

It’s ambitious, but with the necessary “buy-in” and support, we strongly believe it has merit.

• To create 7 direct jobs and up to 23 indirect jobs across the region by creating 3 innovation centres to support the seaweed industry and give support to entrepreneurs and micro businesses

We are pleased to announce that Karen Wade has accepted the role of part time seasonal, Community Growing Officer responsible for the development, delivery and the sharing of knowledge around community growing and the value of greenspace regeneration.

With funding in place from SCVO and Awards For All , we aim to add value to the work completed last year, namely fencing off from herbivores an area of the Doctors Park, planting of fruit trees and hedgerows for nature, and the creation of the wildflower meadow. There is much to do, raised beds to construct and infill, a tool shed and Polycrub to erect, seeds to be sourced, grown on and planted.

This really is a worthwhile project to be involved with, good for your mental health and wellbeing. We will from time to time need some volunteers e.g. to erect the Polycrub and tool shed, anyone with an odd hour or two to spare will be made most welcome and it goes without say that sampling the locally grown produce will be an integral part of any event.

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