Funding for MACC seawater pipe plan
Council cash will half fund research for a seawater intake pipe pumping system at Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC). The plan is that it may eventually serve a new aquaculture hub at MACC. Argyll and Bute Council will give £25,000 to the study with a further £25,000 coming from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). It comes almost a year after news leaked out about the failure of the much hyped Niri, on land system, in the Gaydon hanger, served with water from a borehole. A report provided to councillors, at last Thursday’s policy and resources committee meeting, outlined how developing a state of the art landbased aquaculture innovation hub at Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) may lead to further development.
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It is thought a variety of small business and research units may grow up around the site with the potential to improve employment and further investment opportunities. Stirling University, which has its Marine Environmental Research Laboratory at Lossit Point, Machrihanish, has recently opened discussions between MACC, HIE and Argyll and Bute Council on the development of the system. Stirling researchers see it as a critical first step in the development of an aquaculture hub. Following the committee’s approval Councillor Aileen Morton, policy lead for economic development, said: ‘It is a key priority of this council to attract investment in Argyll and Bute. ‘The development of an aquaculture hub at MACC is exactly the kind of thing that we believe can set us apart from other parts of Scotland. ‘This feasibility study will give a clearer picture of what is possible at the site.’