Owners Peel Ports are on the verge of major announcement on the future of Hunterston deep water terminal and surrounding land, the News can exclusively reveal.
The billionaire owner of Peel Ports John Whittaker, pictured, has revealed in a letter that he is hopeful of ‘major progress’ at the site which will produce a significant number of jobs – and potentially spark a multi-million pound investment in the area.
Cunninghame North MSP Kenneth Gibson is set to meet with representatives of Peel Ports and Heathrow Airport in the coming weeks, and will also be involved in meetings with Scottish Ministers, North Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise.
John Whittaker was responding to concerns from Greenock resident Robert Buirds about investment in Peel Port operations in Scotland.
In his letter, Mr Whittaker provides various assurances, and in direct reference to Hunterston says: “The dramatic and swift reduction of coal-fired power stations in the UK has had a major impact on the Hunterston Deep Water Terminal, which relied on that sector for the bulk of its income.
“However, we are very actively marketing the site on a global basis for a variety of suitable industrial and environmental uses and are hopefully that we will be in a position to soon announce major progress which would bring the site back to meaningful, productive use – with the creation of a significant number of jobs.”
Cunninghame North MSP Kenneth Gibson said: “I have met Peel at both Hunterston, with North Ayrshire MP Patricia Gibson, and Holyrood to discuss potential developments.
“We have also discussed the site’s potential with Scottish Ministers, NAC and Scottish Enterprise. We will join them, along with representatives of Heathrow, on 15 June.
“Peel has asked us to meet them again at Hunterston prior to June to provide us with an update and we are trying to agree dates. There are a number of potential developments that would mean significant investment in the area, as well as the creation of new jobs. 
Peel Ports currently employs 149 people in Scotland, with a turnover of £32 million in the last financial year.
Mr Whittaker is the chairman of the Peel Group, which he founded in 1971 and developed into a leading UK infrastructure, transport and real estate enterprise. 
Also in Mr Whittaker’s letter, he adds: “When the Peel Group acquired Clydeport in 2003 we did so on the basis of a plan to invest in its Clydeside assets for decades to come. Since then we have made significant progress in several areas.
“Over the past decade, we have invested £874m in Scotland, creating 5450 jobs. At a conservative estimate, the annual gross value added to the Scottish economy from the activities of the Peel Group is in excess of £200 million.”
Last November, we exclusively reported that Hunterston could host a new logistics hub for Heathrow Airport.
It is being considered among 65 locations named as a potential logistics base for delivery of the proposed £16 billion expansion of Heathrow Airport.
Scottish Ministers backed the Heathrow proposal after securing commitments that the expansion would add up to 16,000 new jobs across Scotland.
Ten Scottish sites have been long-listed, including Hunterston. One will be chosen from four selected locations to pre-assemble components of the expanded airport before transporting them in consolidated loads to Heathrow.
Cabinet Secretary for Economy Keith Brown MSP said: “I am very pleased to see bids from sites across Scotland being put forward for more detailed consideration and look forward to seeing the process progress from here.”
The giant cranes at Hunterston, which have been symbolic of the ore terminal and later coal ships, are set to come down at some point this year, having been an imposing sight on the local shore going back to the mid-1970s.