Socio-economic Baseline Review for Offshore Renewables in Scottish Waters Volume 1: Main Text

7. North East Region

7.1 Introduction

The regional overview for each marine use present within the North East SORER is detailed within this section. These sub-sections, which are arranged in alpaetical order of activity, provide information in a uniformed manner under the following headings:

• Regional Activity;
• Regional Economic Value and Employment; and
• Future Trends.

The activities present within the North East Region are given in Table 173 below.

Table 173. Activities present within the North East SORER

Activity	Present in North East SORER		Regional Trends Available		Future Trends Available
	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Aquaculture	√			√		√
Aviation	√		√		√
Carbon Capture and Storage	√		√		√
Coast Protection and Flood Defence	√			√		√
Commercial Fisheries	√			√		√
Energy Generation	√			√		√
Military Interests	√			√		√
Oil and Gas	√			√	√
Ports and Harbours	√		√		√
Power Interconnectors	√		√		√
Recreational Boating	√			√		√
Shipping	√		√		√
Social and Community	√		√		√
Telecom Cables	√			√		√
Tourism	√			√		√
Waste Disposal	√		√		√
Water Sports	√			√		√

7.2 Aquaculture

7.2.1 Regional Activity

Marine aquaculture sites within the North East Region are shown in Figure 147. There are 5 finfish and 19 shellfish sites. It should be noted that only one shellfish site is actually located on the North East coast of Scotland. The remaining 18 shellfish and 5 finfish sites are located on the North and North West coast of mainland Scotland (within Loch Eriboll, Loch Laxford and Loch A Chairn Bhain) but fall within the North East SORER region assigned for this project.

7.2.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Regional employment figures for activities relating to marine aquaculture in the North East are listed below in Table 174. As mentioned above the majority of these employees will be associated with finfish and shellfish sites located on the North and North West coast of mainland Scotland.

Table 174. North East employment figures for activities relating to marine aquaculture

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employees		Part-time Employees
	2009	2010	2009	2009
Marine aquaculture ( SIC 03210)	121	84	5	47

(Source: ONS, 2011)

7.2.3 Future Trends

No regional detail on future trends were available, please refer to Section 2.2.3 for national projection

7.3 Aviation

7.3.1 Regional Activity

Airports in this region include the two 'major' airports Inverness and Aberdeen and the 'minor' airport Wick (Figure 3). Inverness and Aberdeen offer a range of domestic services and international flights to a limited range of Euro p.a. destinations. In terms of passenger throughput, Aberdeen is Scotland's third largest airport, handling just under 3 million passengers in 2009 (York Aviation, 2010). Aberdeen Airport also provides links to a range of destinations (e.g. Bergen and Stavanger) owing to the City's position as a centre for the Oil and Gas industry. The airport is also the world's busiest commercial heliport: around 16% of passenger throughput in 2009 was carried on helicopter flights, which made u p.a.ound 37% of air transport movements at the airport (York Aviation, 2010).

Wick airport operates scheduled air services 3 times a day to Aberdeen, and daily to Edinburgh. In addition, the North Sea Helicopter Advisory Route W4D between Aberdeen and Wick, runs directly over the Moray Firth ( ERM, 2010).

The number of ATMs passengers (terminal and transit) and freight movements through each airport in 2009 are shown in Table 175.

Table 175. Summary of activity at Scottish airports in the North East Region

Airport	ATMs	Terminal Passengers	Transit Passengers	Freight (tonnes)
Aberdeen	99,419	2,983,793	652	3,822
Inverness	15,791	583,374	8,023	452
Wick	2,776	21,460	943	1

ATM = Air Transport Movements. All totals include scheduled and chartered flights.

(Source: CAA, 2009)

Information on NATS infrastructure (radar) in this region is provided by ERM (2010) and includes Allanshill Primary Radar located near Fraserburgh.

7.3.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Aberdeen airport is a major generator of GVA and supports a significant number of jobs both in Aberdeen City and Shire and across Scotland. In 2009, the airport was estimated to support 2,050 full time equivalent ( FTE) directly on-site, a further 320 FTE through direct off-site effects and a further 1,020 FTE in the City and Shire and 1,500 FTE across Scotland through indirect and induced impacts. In total, the airport contributes around £114 million of GVA in Aberdeen City and Shire and £126 million across Scotland (York Aviation, 2010).

7.3.3 Future Trends

Passenger traffic at Aberdeen has grown by 13.3% over the past five years and its market share has increased from 11.7% to 13.3% (York Aviation, 2010). The Aberdeen Airport 2006 Master Plan forecasts passenger throughput of between 3-4 million by 2015, with up to nearly 6 million by 2030 (York Aviation, 2010). Inverness Airport Master Plan forecasts passenger throughput of 1.2 mp.a.in 2015, 1.4 mp.a.in 2020 and 1.8 million in 2030, based on a median scenario growth forecast of 3% per annum over the timeline of the forecasts ( HIAL, 2007).

An additional source of passenger forecasts is provided by the DfT UK Aviation Forecasts ( DfT, 2011). The constrained (maximum use) passenger capacity and ATM estimated for the major Scottish airports in this region are shown in Table 176.

Table 176. Constrained terminal passenger and ATM 'central' forecasts for major Scottish airports in the North East Region

Numbers/Movements	Airport	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050
Terminal passengers ( mp.a.	Aberdeen	3	3	4	5	6
	Inverness	<1	1	<1	<1	<1
Air Transport Movements (000's)	Aberdeen	90	90	100	110	120
	Inverness	15	30	15	15	15

(Source: DfT, 2011)

7.4 Carbon Capture and Storage

7.4.1 Regional Activity

The hydrocarbon fields and saline aquifers identified by SCCS (2009) as having the potential to store CO ₂ in the North East SORER region are shown below in Tables 177 and 178 respectively. The location of these potential CO ₂ storage sites are shown in Figure 148. CO ₂ storage in hydrocarbon fields cannot begin until hydrocarbon production ceases and the 'close of production' year for the hydrocarbon fields are shown in Table 178, based on past production data ( SCSS, 2009). SCSS (2009) notes that development of the three HPHT gas condensate fields in this area is likely to be too expensive to develop for CO ₂ stores in the short term. In Table 187, the range in storage capacity of the saline aquifers relates to the percentage of the total pore volume available for CO ₂ storage. The significance of the storage capacity of the potential sites in this region, combined with potential CCS sites in the North Region, is discussed in the CCS National overview.

Further analysis of the capacity of the Ca p.a.n Sandstone saline aquifer (an extensive body of rock which also hosts several Oil and Gas fields) beneath the Moray Firth, estimated the storage capacity of this area to be over 360 Mt of CO ₂, with the potential for an additional 1200 Mt storage capacity with significant investment. Hence, the Ca p.a.n Sandstone alone could provide a secure store able to hold 15-100 years of CO ₂ output from Scotland's existing industrial sources.

Table 177. Hydrocarbon fields assessed as having potential for CO ₂ storage alone in the North East Region

Field Name	Plan Region	Close of Hydrocarbon Production (year)	Average Water Depth of Field	Estimated CO 2 Storage ( Mt)
Franklin GC HPHT	North East	2030 -	93 +	62
Elgin GC HPHT	North East	2030 -	93 +	63
Shearwater GC HPHT	North East	2015 +	92 +	66
Britannia GC	North East	2030 -	136 =	181
Total estimated Storage ( Mt)				372

GC = Gas Condensate field; HPHT = High Pressure Temperature field. + parameter is technically or economically feasible; = parameter is technically or economically borderline; - parameter is technically or economically unfavourable.

(Source, SCCS, 2009)

Table 178. Saline aquifers that meet both geotechnical and storage capacity requirements in the North East Region

Saline aquifer	Plan Region	Area ( km 2)	CO 2 Storage Capacity (0.2% Storage Efficiency) ( Mt)	CO 2 Storage Capacity (2% Storage Efficiency) ( Mt)
Forties +	North East	16069	886	8856
Mey =	North East	33190	1655	16549
Tay =	North East	2484	133	1328
Ca p.a.n =	North East	3438	36	363
Mains =	North East	4601	24	241
Total storage capacity ( Mt)			2,734	27,337

+ meets best p.a.tise geotechnical requirements (for depth, permeability and porosity); = meets minimum geotechnical requirements.

(Source: SCSS, 2009)

7.4.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not currently possible to attribute economic values to sea areas for future CO ₂ storage (Baxter et al, 2011). See Section 2.4.3 for estimates of the potential value of, and employment within, the emerging CCS sector at a national level.

7.4.3 Future Trends

Further hydrocarbon fields or saline aquifers suitable for CO ₂ storage may yet be discovered ( SCCS, 2009). Subject to funding, a project proposal to design and develo p.a.post-combustion CCS facility at the gas-fired power station at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire was announced in November 2011 ^[58] . The CO ₂ emissions captured would be transported to the Goldeneye gas field in the North Sea, using, as far as possible, existing pipeline infrastructure ^[59] . For national projections refer to Section 2.4.3.

7.5 Coast Protection and Flood Defence

7.5.1 Regional Activity

There are two flood defence schemes, two coastal defence schemes and a managed realignment scheme in this region, see Figure 149. The location, year of construction and size of scheme (where known) are shown in Table 179.

Table 179. Location and details of flood and coastal defence schemes in the North East Region

Location	Type of Scheme	Date (Where Known)	Size (Where Known)
Conon Bridge Village	Flood defence	No data	No data
River Ness Tidal Section	Flood defence	No data	No data
Aberdeen Bay	Coast protection	Approved 2006	0.5 km (length)
Stonehaven Bay	Coast protection	Approved 2000/2005	No data
Nigg Bay	Managed realignment	Constructed 2003	25 ha (area)

(Source: Baxter et al, 2011)

7.5.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not possible to assign an economic value to flood and coastal defences however Table 180 shows the economic costs of the flood defences in this region.

Table 180. Cost of coast protection schemes in the North East Region since 2000

Location	Cost (£million)
Conon Bridge Village	0.1
River Ness Tidal Section	23.6
Aberdeen Bay	2.5
Stonehaven Bay	0.2
Nigg Bay	53,840

(Source: Baxter et al, 2011)

There are no figures on direct employment within this activity in this region.

7.5.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.5.3.

7.6 Commercial Fisheries

7.6.1 Regional Activity

7.6.1.1 Fish catching activities

Landings caught by UK vessels within the North East SORER had an average annual value of £36.3 million (9.5% of the Scottish total) and an average annual live weight of 29,300 tonnes (6.8% of the Scottish total) for the ten year period from 2001 to 2010.

Figures 150 to 153 show the annual average value (2001 to 2010) of the total landings taken from within this region, broken down for each ICES rectangle by species group, selected species, gear type and vessel length.

Figures 154 to 156 show the value of all landings caught in the inshore and offshore waters of the West SORER waters by selected species, gear type and vessel length categories from 2001 to 2010.

The majority of the value of landings from within the North East SORER is shellfish, however, the majority of the volume is pelagic species. There is a difference between the main species caught in inshore waters (within 12 nm from the coast) and offshore waters (greater than 12 nm from the coast). Inshore, landings of Nephrops accounted for 25% of the total catch value in 2010 whilst scallops made up 14% and other shellfish made up 55% of the total catch value. Offshore, landings of Nephrops accounted for 49% of the total catch value in 2010, 15% were haddock, 8% were scallops, 7% were monkfish and 6% were herring.

In 2010, 48% of the value of landings from inshore waters were taken by vessels 10m and under in length, compared with 18% landed by vessels over 10m and under 15m and 34% landed by vessels 15m and over. Offshore, 94% of the value of landings was taken by vessels 15m and over in length.

For inshore waters, 31% of the total catch value was taken by pots, 26% by Nephrops trawls, 19% by dredges and 18% by 'other trawls'; whereas for offshore waters, 62% was taken by Nephrops trawls and 22% by demersal trawls.

Figures 157 and 158 show the overflight (surveillance) sightings by vessel type and nationality in the region from 2006 to 2010. Fishing is concentrated in the north of the Region and accounts for 13% of the national effort. British vessels are the most common nationality present at 95%. The majority (84%) are demersal trawlers, especially offshore, while pelagic trawlers and other gear types are seen closer to the coast.

The main administrative fishing ports in this region are Buckie, Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen and there are also 20 smaller ports throughout the region. All the ports are shown in Figure 159.

7.6.1.2 Fish processing activities

The North East SORER is one of the most important regions in the UK for the primary and mixed processing industry. There are several small to medium sized processing sites, for example carrying out filleting, freezing and smoking, concentrated around Fraserburgh and Peterhead. Whitefish and pelagic processing mainly takes planss in this region.

The Peterhead and Fraserburgh Fish Processors Association ( PFFPA) currently has 40 members, the majority being small processors employing between 5 and 20 staff. Collectively, the members employ around 3000 people.

There is now only one manufacturer of canned fish left in the UK, which is based in Fraserburgh. It focuses on the production of North Atlantic mackerel fillets and brisling sardines caught in the North Atlantic during the winter.

7.6.1.3 Wild salmon and sea trout

There are 5 fixed engine (2 on the North coast and 3 in the Moray Firth) and 13 net and coble netting sites (10 in the Moray Firth and 3 along the East coast) in the North East SORER (see Figure 159).

The main rod and line fishing rivers in this region are the Wick (second largest salmon fishing river in Caithness), Helmsdale (most productive salmon river in the North of Scotland and some sea trout fishing in summer months), Shin (salmon), Oykel (salmon), Carron (salmon), Alness (salmon and some sea trout), Conon (salmon and some sea trout), Beauly (salmon and some sea trout), Ness (one of the most productive salmon rivers in the North of Scotland), Nairn (salmon and some sea trout), Findhorn (salmon and some sea trout), Lossie (salmon and sea trout), Spey (probably the most famous salmon river in the world and one of the best sea trout rivers in the country), Deveron (salmon and sea trout), Don (salmon and sea trout), Dee (one of the best salmon rivers in Scotland and sea trout also caught) (Gray J., 2009).

Sea trout catches have declined in recent years and salmon catches have also declined, one major impact being the building of hydro-electric dams, for example on the rivers Conon, Beauly and Shin.

7.6.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

7.6.2.1 Fish catching activities

The North East SORER is covered by the administrative ports of Buckie, Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen. There are 1608 fishermen employed on Scottish based vessels in these districts; the largest numbers being located in Fraserburgh (789) and Peterhead (424). There are 1357 full-time fishermen and 251 part-time. There are 487 active vessels registered in these districts, 277 of which are 10m and under in length (Marine Scotland, 2011d).

In the Fraserburgh Travel-to-work area, over 15% of total employment is directly involved in the fishing sector and in Peterhead between 5% and 10% is directly employed in the fishing sector (Baxter et al., 2011). Approximately 45% of the working population in the Fraserburgh area is either engaged in fishing directly or indirectly by providing the many services which are essential to kee p.a.modern fishing fleet at sea ( BPA, 2008). In 2010 fishing accounted for the employment of 789 individuals or 6% of the UK total (12,703) ( MMO, 2012 http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk//fisheries/statistics/annual.htm).

7.6.2.2 Fish processing activities

The largest concentration of employment in this sector in Scotland is located between Aberdeen and Fraserburgh.

The ONS (2011) and Employment Survey statistics for processing activities in the North East SORER are shown in Table 181.

Table 181. Employment in fish and shellfish processing and retail in the North East SORER

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employment		Part-time Employment		Total Employment
	2009	2010	2009	2010	2009	2010
Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs ( SIC 10200)	2806	3220	320	350	3123	3571

(Source: ONS, 2011)

7.6.2.3 Wild salmon and sea trout

There is no specific information on economic value and employment for this region. For a national overview refer to Section 2.6.3.

7.6.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.6.3.

7.7 Energy Generation

7.7.1 Regional Activity

Peterhead gas/oil power station is located within the region. It has an installed capacity of 1,540 MW ^[60] .

7.7.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Information on regional economic value for energy generation is not available. The connectivity of the electricity grid means that the region cannot be delineated. In addition, data availability on electricity generation and supply is very limited due to security issues.

Direct employment in the electricity sector in the North East Region can be estimated through looking at statistics from the ONS (2011) and Employment Survey. Figures for 2009 and 2010 for full and part time work under several relevant codes are given in Table 182 (note that jobs under other SIC codes will also be supported by the wider energy sector but have not been included here to avoid overestimation). Renewable energy related skills will already be in use in this region, since the Beatrice demonstration project is located here (see Figure 160). With a Round 3 wind zone proposed, employment in the electricity sector is likely to increase.

Table 182. Employment in the electricity sector in North East by SIC Code

SIC Code, 2007	Full-time		Part-time		Totals
	2009	2010	2009	2010	2009	2010
Production of electricity (3511)	362	785	23	53	385	838
Transmission of electricity (3512)	4	4	0	0	4	4
Distribution of electricity (3513)	398	448	28	21	426	469
Trade of electricity (3514)	5	5	1	1	6	6
Construction of utility projects for electricity and telecommunications (4222)	16	33	1	2	17	35
Electrical installation (4321)	2448	2056	140	97	2588	2153
Totals (Note that totals may not sum exactly due to rounding)	3,233	3,331	193	174	3,426	3,505

(Source: ONS, 2011)

7.7.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.7.3.

7.8 Military Interests

7.8.1 Regional Activity

The coastal military locations which occur within this region are shown in Figure 161. Military interests in this region include:

• Tain RAF bombing range on the Dornoch Firth;
• Kinloss and Lossiemouth RAF Bases (see Table 192 below);
• Black Dog Firing Range;
• Air Defence Radar at RAF Buchan;
• Hill of Dudwick Meteorological Weather Radar (DE Safeguarding, 2010); and
• Two predominantly offshore sea areas classified as both 'firing danger' and 'other' exercise areas adjacent to the Moray Firth.

With regard to military aviation, additional information on RAF bases and exercise areas in this region are shown in Table 183.

Table 183. RAF stations in the North East Region

RAF Station	Description
RAF Buchan	A remote radar site, home to a Control and Reporting Centre ( CRC) capable of coordinating all aspects of air defence in its Area of Responsibility within the United Kingdom's Air Policing Area
RAF Kinloss	RAF Kinloss airfield was closed on 13 July 2011 and will close as an RAF station on 31 March 2013 due to cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 programme. However, it will remain a defence asset, being handed over to the Defence Estates by 31 March 2014.
RAF Lossiemouth	Fast-jet base. Future uncertain, although Air Chiefs have recommended retention of RAF Lossiemouth.
RAF Tain	An Air Weapon Range on the Moray Firth in routine use for p.a.tice weapons training by aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth to the South East.

(Source: Royal Air force website: http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/stations.cfm?selectLocation=Scotland;
ABPmer, RPA and SQW, 2011)

7.8.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

The MOD Quarterly Manning Report (Defence Personnel by location) issued in August 2011, provides the number of MOD personnel (civilian and military) employed in each LA area at 1 July 2011 ( MOD, 2011a). Five of these LAs fall entirely or partially within the North East Region and the number of MOD personnel which are employed within each of these LA areas is shown in Table 184. However, as the LA areas do not align with the SORER boundaries, the values should only be taken as indicative values for comparison between areas.

Table 184. MOD personnel by local authority areas which lie within the North East Region

Local Authority ( LA) Area	SORER*	MOD total	Civilian	Military
Angus	E, NE	920	870	50
Aberdeen City	NE	110	20	90
Moray	NE	3310	2750	570
Aberdeenshire	NE, E	60	20	40
Highland	NE & NW, N	680	600	80

* Note LAs may occur within more than one SORER. Where this is the case, the SORER containing the largest proportion of the LA (visually assessed) is listed first, and subsequent SORERs contain decreasing proportions of the LA; '&' indicates that the LA ap p.a.s to occupy roughly equal proportions of more than one SORERs.

(Source: MOD, 2011a)

The Moray LA (which falls entirely within the North East Region) has the highest MOD personnel within this Region.

7.8.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.8.3.

7.9 Oil and Gas

7.9.1 Regional Activity

In this region, Oil and Gas activity occurs throughout much of the offshore waters, concentrated particularly along the Eastern edge of the SORER (Figure 162). Oil and Gas pipelines connect the hydrocarbon fields with three terminals within this region. There are 111 producing hydrocarbon fields in this region (93 producing oil; 4 gas and 14 condensate) ( DECC website) ^[61] .

Information on the annual production of crude oil from hydrocarbon fields in the UKCS are provided by DECC ^[62] . Based on this data, the quantities of crude oil produced from hydrocarbon fields located within the North East SORER between 2008 and 2010 are shown in Table 185. Indicative estimates of the total production of crude oil from hydrocarbon fields within this region was about 42 million tonnes in 2008 and 2009 and about 40 million tonnes in 2010. Gas production statistics are not allocated to hydrocarbon fields and hence it was not possible to estimate gas production from fields within this region.

Table 185. Crude oil production from hydrocarbon fields located within the North East Region

Field Name	Crude Oil Production 2008 (tonnes)	Crude Oil Production 2009 (tonnes)	Crude Oil Production 2010 (tonnes)
A lba	1,873,939	1,758,758	1,548,382
Andrew	518,683	431,742	313,287
Arbroath	195,950	213,080	149,908
Arkwright	155,333	135,473	71,805
Atlantic	50,051	1,423	0
Balmoral	35,258	82,795	60,943
Banff	281,923	233,848	175,943
Bardolino			28,014
Beatrice	54,018	95,545	102,502
Beauly	20,828	15,879	14,873
Bittern	671,192	509,194	601,587
Blake	793,027	786,257	627,837
Blane	536,565	445,554	360,313
Brechin	67,196	42,024	48,799
Brenda	656,248	313,668	215,831
Britannia	322,667	260,607	230,588
Brodgar	239,569	457,231	434,657
Buchan	295,606	253,933	242,049
Burghley			75,494
Buzzard	9,937,620	9,141,111	9,042,554
Caledonia	7,345	6,135	1,614
Callanish	692,249	1,781,078	2,354,749
Ca p.a.n	2,356,890	1,967,289	2,011,211
Carnoustie	2,608	2,950	1,716
Chanter	6,371	6,521	288
Chestnut	155,045	482,923	382,767
Cla p.a.	140,112	94,405	49,915
Claymore	742,555	649,057	669,413
Cook	169,401	341,153	295,145
Cyrus	45,813	52,243	49,698
Donan {Maersk}	1,197,868	617,742	583,659
Drake	25,414	20,207	14,381
Duart	175,939	167,455	102,362
Egret	30,174	0	0
Elgin	2,094,100	1,969,389	1,627,071
Erskine	178,756	342,435	31,575
Ettrick		254,687	830,009
Everest	132,809	104,085	94,033
Farragon	511,135	289,688	216,335
Fleming	113,638	92,720	75,769
Forties	2,974,411	3,042,652	2,762,748
Franklin	1,309,560	1,580,382	1,428,361
Gadwall	82,199	0	0
Galley	0	104,030	95,453
Gannet A	264,810	175,760	214,066
Gannet B	13,729	0	1,197
Gannet C	156,548	112,170	43,045
Gannet D	183,599	132,230	93,629
Gannet E	240,029	89,883	72,504
Gannet F	156,715	413,639	308,862
Gannet G	85,785	96,716	63,194
Glenelg	366,819	308,968	179,934
Goosander	510,120	377,820	261,245
Grouse	1,255	382,797	363,786
Guillemot A	199,638	219,299	177,515
Guillemot Nw	28,437	7,061	3,697
Guillemot W	54,480	148,734	245,985
Hannay	64,960	3,528	3,797
Hawkins	1,210	497	264
Heron	209,105	165,611	78,980
Highlander	64,966	90,149	79,212
Howe	161,498	116,328	123,570
Iona	344	3,233	856
Ivanhoe	42,919	7,716
Jacky		270,037	354,642
Jade	280,703	442,888	402,489
Kittiwake	4,875	7,751	16,426
Kyle	212,740	224,474	195,349
Lochranza			502,007
Lomond	74,213	55,817	34,633
Macculloch	361,202	458,804	486,609
Machar	348,095	542,067	537,850
Madoes	372,143	439,876	240,822
Mallard	86,728	189,832	116,214
Maria	185,905	256,908	120,732
Marnock	42,189	44,732	31,098
Maule			71,374
Merganser	212,556	132,299	120,138
Mirren	208,546	126,042	37,382
Monan	110	36,321	84,628
Montrose	32,834	42,795	17,558
Mungo	909,337	902,296	682,352
Nelson	1,294,866	935,532	645,287
Nicol	86,137	99,401	79,110
Petronella	0	10,266	58,963
Pict	176,039	158,526	151,325
Pierce	609,152	529,619	494,317
Piper	379,048	343,897	310,615
Rob Roy	25,709	5,230
Ross	91,570	111,344	67,544
Rubie	30,245	6,751
Saltire	85,101	74,077	66,995
Saxon	114,861	147,294	133,726
Scapa	174,966	77,772	177,831
Scoter	67,517	29,567	52,218
Scott	692,539	611,349	526,127
Seymour	35,161	48,140	41,140
Shearwater	226,126	297,728	304,675
Shelley		110,086	33,709
Starling	421,802	361,355	328,744
Stirling	18,079	5,925	16,536
Sycamore	65,144	30,289	19,291
Tartan	138,350	146,616	118,408
Teal	13,341	31,270	142,392
Teal South	21,375	14,860	304
Telford	229,250	400,275	412,495
Thelma	213,703	176,041	177,074
Tiffany	131,479	111,210	124,710
Toni	117,035	99,159	98,471
Tweedsmuir	677,945	510,530	363,225
Tweedsmuir South	353,945	416,316	327,722
Wood	19,478	57,899	36,497
Total	42,499,174	42,130,748	39,700,728

(Source: Based on DECC production figures, 2010)

7.9.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

In 2008, the average oil price was £379.80/tonne ^[63] . Using this price, an indicative economic value of the crude oil produced from hydrocarbon fields within this SORER in 2008 was calculated as about £16 billion. Average oil prices for 2009 and 2010 were not available at the time of writing to estimate indicative values in these years.

An indication of the level of employment provided by the Oil and Gas sector in this region is shown in Table 195. It should be noted that the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Parliamentary Constituency spans part of the North East and East SORERs and hence the level of employment given in Table 186 cannot be considered to occur entirely within the North East SORER.

Table 186. Employment by parliamentary constituency in the North East Region

Parliamentary Constituency 2010	Total Employment
Aberdeen South	50,000+
Gordon	25,000-50,000
Aberdeen North	10,000-25,000
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine*	10,000-25,000
Banff and Buchan	1,000-2,000

* Note this constituency occurs within both the North East and East SORERs

(Source: Oil and Gas UK, 2011)

Further information on employment within this sector is provided by the ONS ABI and is shown in Table 187.

Table 187. ABI employment figures for oil and gas related activities in the North East Region

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employees		Part-time Employees
	2009	2010	2009	2010
Extraction of crude petroleum ( SIC 06100)	7130	7268	192	200
Extraction of natural gas ( SIC 06200)	282	302	16	14
Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction ( SIC 09100)	17100	18292	656	330
Transport via pipeline ( SIC 49500)	22	24	1	5

(Source: ONS, 2011)

7.9.3 Future Trends

Oil and Gas UK (2011) list two hydrocarbon fields in this region as new field developments for 2011-12: The Lybster oil field is under development with an estimated production start date of September 2011 and total recoverable reserves of about 3mm boe (Oil and Gas UK, 2011). Kinnoull oil field is described as a 'probable development', with a potential production start date of July 2012 and total recoverable reserves of about 49mm boe. The Jasmine gas condensate field, which is also under development, occurs partially within this region. However, as the field predominately falls within the East Region, the details are described in Section 8.7.3. For national projections refer to Section 2.9.3.

7.10 Ports and Harbours

7.10.1 Regional Activity

Due to their location close to North Sea Oil and Gas, the principal ports in the region of Cromarty Firth, Inverness, Peterhead and Aberdeen p.a. a vital role in servicing p.a.forms, rigs and numerous other Oil and Gas related activities, see Figure 163. Peterhead has seen a reduction in cargo tonnages from a p.a. in 1998 of 2.8 million tonnes down to circa 800,000 tonnes in 2009. Cromarty Firth handled a p.a. of 4.5 million tonnes in 1998, and now handles an average of 3 million tonnes in recent years. The Cromarty Firth Port Authority recorded record pre-tax profits of nearly £1million on turnover of some £4.5 million in 2010, with activities at the port and service base generating an annual £80-100million to the regional economy, or 500-600 jobs (HI Energy, 2011)

Aberdeen's tonnage between 1998 and 2003 was around 3.5 million tonnes, but from 2005 this has increased to 4.5 to 5 million tonnes per year. Inverness consistently handled 700,000 tonnes of cargo per year between 1998 and 2004, after which the tonnage has reduced to an average of 670,000 tonnes per year. These values are shown in Table 188.

Table 188. North East Region major port tonnages

Port		1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Peterhead	Import	1,111,914	894,416	729,967	799,453	844,874	600,000
	Export	1,706,186	1,315,053	393,082	539,805	497,831	451,000
	Total	2,818,100	2,209,469	1,123,049	1,339,258	1,342,705	1,051,000
Cromarty Firth	Import	2,141,468	1,190,526	1,113,685	1,152,373	1,179,242	1,650,000
	Export	2,314,390	1,145,895	1,215,423	992,319	1,479,196	1,851,000
	Total	4,455,858	2,336,421	2,329,108	2,144,692	2,658,438	3,501,000
Aberdeen	Import	2,111,020	1,989,425	1,898,293	2,118,314	1,980,245	1,794,000
	Export	1,675,271	1,378,692	1,479,126	1,727,104	1,664,795	1,438,000
	Total	3,786,291	3,368,117	3,377,419	3,845,418	3,645,040	3,233,000
Inverness	Import	671,704	683,175	621,524	602,748	551,314	605,000
	Export	90,991	100,290	102,487	111,452	134,304	122,000
	Total	762,695	783,465	724,011	714,200	685,618	727,000
Port		2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Peterhead	Import	390,000	606,000	647,000	468,000	524,000	481,714
	Export	286,000	322,000	300,000	321,000	347,000	314,866
	Total	676,000	928,000	947,000	790,000	871,000	796,580
Cromarty Firth	Import	1,552,000	1,648,000	1,608,000	1,688,000	1,174,000	1,299,378
	Export	1,656,000	1,677,000	1,598,000	1,814,000	1,078,000	1,564,661
	Total	3,208,000	3,325,000	3,206,000	3,502,000	2,252,000	2,864,039
Aberdeen	Import	2,095,000	2,401,000	2,407,000	2,541,000	2,407,000	2,227,156
	Export	1,793,000	2,208,000	2,256,000	2,591,000	2,426,000	2,342,905
	Total	3,888,000	4,609,000	4,663,000	5,131,000	4,833,000	4,570,061
Inverness	Import	599,000	568,000	549,000	562,000	551,000	524,335
	Export	127,000	97,000	122,000	123,000	146,000	127,030
	Total	726,000	665,000	671,000	684,000	697,000	651,365

Values shown are annualized import and export tonnages

(Source: DfT, 2010)

In addition to these large ports, there are 53 other ports within this region these are shown in Table 189.

Table 189. North East Regional ports

Port	Operator	Type
Aberdeen	Aberdeen Harbour Board	Trust
Auckengill		Local Authority
Avoch	Avoch Harbour Trust	Trust
Balintore		Local Authority
Banff	Aberdeenshire Harbours	Local Authority
Boddam		Private
Brora		Local Authority
Buckie	Moray Harbours	Local Authority
Burghead	Moray Harbours	Local Authority
Cairnbulg		Private
Catterline		Private
Collieston		Trust
Cove		Private
Cromarty	Cromarty Harbour Trust	Trust
Cullen	Moray Harbours	Local Authority
Dingwall		Disused
Dunbeath		Local Authority
Embo		Disused
Eriboll		unknown
Findochty	Moray Harbours	Local Authority
Fortrose		Local Authority
Fraserburgh	Fraserburgh Harbour Commission	Trust
Gardenstown		Trust
Golspie		Local Authority
Helmsdale	Highland Harbours	Local Authority
Hopeman	Moray Harbours	Local Authority
Invergordon	Cromarty Firth Port Authority	Trust
Inverness	Inverness Harbour Trust	Trust
Keiss		Local Authority
Kinlochbervie	Highland Harbours	Local Authority
Kirtomy		Private
Kylesku		Local Authority
Latheronwheel		Local Authority
Lossiemouth	Aberdeenshire Harbours	Local Authority
Lybster		Private
Macduff	Aberdeenshire Harbours	Local Authority
Meikle Ferry	Site nearly deserted	Closed
Nairn		Local Authority
Newburgh		unknown
Pennan	Pennan Harbour Trust	Trust
Peterhead	Peterhead Port Authority	Trust
Port Erroll	Cruden Bay Harbour Commissioners	Trust
Portmahomack	Highland Harbours	Local Authority
Portnockie	Moray Harbours	Local Authority
Portskerra	Highland Harbours	Local Authority
Portsoy	Aberdeenshire Harbours	Local Authority
Rosehearty	Aberdeenshire Harbours	Local Authority
Rosemarkie
Sandhaven and Pitullie	Sandhaven and Pitullie Harbour Trust Ltd	Private
Skerray		Trust
St Combs and Charleston		unknown
Staxigoe		Local Authority
Stonehaven	Aberdeenshire Harbours	Local Authority
Talmine		Trust
Whaligoe	Closed	Closed?
Whinnyfold		unknown
Whitehills	Whitehills Marina	Private
Wick	Wick Harbour Authority	Trust

(Source: Marine Scotland, 2011a)

Large scale fishing is an important aspect of ports in this region, specifically for Fraserburgh Harbour which is the largest p.a.n/ Entraps landing port in the UK and one of the biggest in this sector in Europe, u p.a.ds of 45% of the towns employment is engaged directly with, or through indirect links, to the fishing industry ( BPA, 2008) and provided a value to the fishing industry in 2009 of £47.6 million GVA (Oxford Economics, 2011), see also Section 7.6. Also within this region, Peterhead is valued as the largest ports by value of fish landed in 2010 (£116.4 million) ( MMO, 2012).

7.10.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

The principal ports in the region of Cromarty Firth Inverness, Peterhead and Aberdeen p.a. a vital role in servicing p.a.forms, rigs and numerous other Oil and Gas related activities.

Employment data from the business register and employment survey by the ONS (2011) has been reviewed and although it provides a total figure of 1,702 for full time workers in 2010 in the categories as seen in the previous sections, this is not considered to provide a representative view of employment generated by the ports and harbours industry within this region. This is identified as a data gap.

7.10.3 Future Trends

Peterhead has recently invested £33.5 million in the new 13,000m² deeplansr berth 'Smith Emban kment' quay facility which is focused on supporting pelagic and white fish industry, Oil and Gas, subsea and renewables. The quay opened in October 2010.

Scotland's industrial Cromarty Firth area is well plansd to capture lucrative new energy industry opportunities - if businesses ensure they compete effectively through tight collaboration and pro-active marketing. Cromarty Firth Port Authority has published a 20-year development 'Master Plan' for activity in the firth which identifies:

• The area's potential for continued support of offshore Oil and Gas;
• The huge emerging offshore wind sector and renewables activity, as a major new market opportunity, particularly through harnessing the high levels of related skills developed over four decades in the Cromarty Firth;

• Refocusing of the marine construction and other services towards renewable industries;
• Maintain and expand existing operations in inspection, repair and maintenance ( IRM) of Oil and Gas p.a.forms; and
• The Cromarty Firth Market Assessment and Development Plan stresses that breaking into the new markets will require stronger collaboration, both within industry and with the public sector, at regional and national levels (HI Energy, 2011).

Aberdeen Harbour Authority is investing £65 million in a development strategy which will redevelop the existing wharves at Torry Quay and replans them with 300 metres of realigned quays which are designed for modern, deep draughted ships and heavy cargoes (Oil Voice, 2011)

Inverness Harbour Trust continue to improve facilities at the harbour with the recent completion and opening of the North Longman Development, which included the provision of new marine leisure and boat lift facilities in 2009. This is being followed in 2011 by new road access routes into the port to allow 50m wind farm blades to be transported into the harbour.

Fraserburgh Harbour recently opened a six berth repair Ship lift, and together with its dry dock, the facilities are regularly used by the harbour's fishing fleet, as well as a growing number of oil vessels and ferries. The facilities provide employment for a rage of ancillary trades including carpenters, painters and welders to service all types of vessels ( BPA, 2008).

7.11 Power Interconnectors

7.11.1 Regional Activity

There are no subsea domestic or international power interconnectors within this region, see Figure 164. Note subsea cables to/from developments, such as the Beatrice wind farm zone, have been excluded from this analysis.

7.11.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not currently possible to assign an economic value to power interconnectors and there are no interconnectors within this region. As such, although information on employment within the power interconnector sector was available from the ONS ABI, it has been assumed that the employment figures were not associated with domestic or international subsea power cables.

7.11.3 Future Trends

There are a number of proposed marine power interconnector developments in the UK at various stages of maturity in the planning process. Those that may be relevant to this region (e.g. may pass through and/or make landfall within the region) are shown in Table 190.

Table 190. Proposed marine power cable developments in the UK relevant to Scotland

Connection	Indicative Length ( km)	Capacity (MW)	Comment
UK- Norway 'North Connect'	570	1400	Co-operation agreement signed in February 2011. Expected to be operational before 2020 (Saunders et al, 2011). Preferred landing point in Scotland is Peterhead, however a landing point in Norway has not been identified*.
Shetland Orkney and East Coast of England 'East Coast Transmission Network'	>2000	1000 MW network	Feasibility study undertaken in 2008; vision for 2020 (Saunders et al, 2011).
East coast of England-Scotland Eastern HDVC Link	No information found	1800	Peterhead to Hawthorne Pit. Target completion date 2018. Estimated cost £700million (Electricity Networks Strategy Group, 2009).

* http://www.globaltransmission.info/archive.php?id=9282

(Source: Saunders et al, 2011; Refabrica website: www.refabrica.com/einter/?page_id=157)

7.12 Recreational Boating

7.12.1 Regional Activity

Sailing activity in the North East Region is shown in Figure165. Recreational use here is centred on the inner Moray Firth which is an important area for sailing. Figure 165 shows that moderate use cruising routes connect the sailing areas in the Moray Firth with marinas in the Northern part of this region such as Wick and Helmsdale (Baxter et al. 2011).

7.12.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

An indicative estimate of the economic impact of sailing is provided by the Scottish Enterprise (2010) and shown in Table 191 below.

Table 191. Sailing area values and berth numbers

Sailing Tourism Study Region	Scottish Sea Areas Included	Relevant SORER	Value (£million) GVA	Number of Pontoons	Number of Moorings
North (Gairloch-Helmsdale-Peterhead, Orkney & Shetland)	North Scotland Coast West Shetland East Shetland Moray Firth	Part of North East Helmsdale-Peterhead)	10.1	1,792	224
East (Peterhead-Fife Ness-Berwick)	East Scotland Coast Forth	Part of East and North-East	7.9	1067	480

(Source: Scottish Enterprise 2010, Summarised in Baxter et al., 2011)

There are no available regional employment figures for activities relating to recreational boating.

7.12.3 Future Trends

No regional detail on future trends were available, please refer to Section 2.12.3 for national projections.

7.13 Shipping

7.13.1 Regional Activity

From Clythness the coast runs in a generally South-South West direction and is mainly composed of rocky cliffs with rocks which dry close inshore, but are generally clear of navigation dangers beyond 400m from shore. Further South the coast line changes with cliffs reducing and receding into a large bight which forms the approach to the Dornoch Firth, these areas are buoyed for navigational purposes down to the entrance to Cromarty Firth Inverness Firth. The Southern seaward shore of the Inverness Firth leads East and is initially low lying and sandy with drying banks forming navigation hazards. From Scar Nose Eastwards, rocky cliffs fringed by drying reefs prevail with some sandy stretches to Rattray Head. The Beatrice oilfield and small offshore wind farm lie within the Moray Firth to the North East of Tarbat Ness whilst numerous oil installations lie to the East of Rattray Head ( GLA, 2010).

Cargo, leisure and fishing vessels in significant quantity operate throughout this region, either departing or arriving at local ports other mainland Scotland ports, Europe or Scandinavia. Tankers loaded and in ballast, cruise vessels and oil support vessels for the Cromarty Firth arrive and depart to and from the East or Pentland Firth. Table 201 shows the number of vessel arriving at the Cromarty Firth to be around 170 vessels annually. Inverness handles around 300 vessel arrivals annually. Shuttle tankers and other oil support craft anchor along the Moray coast to shelter from the prevailing weather. Transitory traffic of all types and sizes from and to the Pentland Firth cross the area on a North West / South East heading from Rattray Head to Duncansby Head. There is significant oil industry traffic to the East of Rattray Head serving the numerous oil installations.

The port of Aberdeen and Peterhead support significant vessel movements, with a high intensity of sea area use around the vessel movements across a spectrum of trades including oil, gas, general cargo, fishing, offshore renewables and passenger services. Table 192 shows that Peterhead handles around 230 vessel arrivals a year, and Aberdeen 1,500 vessel arrivals per year.

Table 192. North East Regional vessel arrival counts at major ports

Port	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Peterhead	304	335	290	350	328	306	316
Cromarty Firth	454	476	417	468	356	368	198
Aberdeen	1,778	1,613	1,693	1,826	1,741	1,709	1,717
Inverness	371	365	382	353	381	356	336
Port	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Peterhead	319	311	241	225	212	190	231
Cromarty Firth	153	133	149	147	175	187	169
Aberdeen	1,692	1,590	1,625	1,611	1,643	1,569	1,549
Inverness	333	337	316	267	223	294	267

(Source: DfT, 2010)

Two ferry services operate in this SORER both providing services to Kirkwall (Orkney Isles) and Lerwick on the Shetland Isles, see Figure166 (Marine Scotland, 2011a).

7.13.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

There is no published information on the specific economic value of shipping to this region. Employment extracted from Office for National Statistics shows that within the 'Sea and Coastal Passenger Water Transport' category 54 people were employed full time in 2010 (see Table 193). The largest category is 'Sea and coastal freight water transport' with 199 full time employees in 2010.

Table 193. North East Regional shipping employment

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employees		Part-time Employees
	2009	2010	2009	2010
Sea and coastal passenger water transport ( SIC 50100)	112	54	5	7
Sea and coastal freight water transport ( SIC 50200)	283	199	11	26
Renting and leasing of freight water transport equipment ( SIC 77342)	70	20	4	4
Total	465	273	2	37

(Source: ONS, 2011)

7.13.3 Future Trends

Traffic patterns have not substantially changed since 2005 other than a significant increase in cruise vessels visiting the area. The Beatrice wind farm currently a three turbine demonstrator site is to be expanded up the 12 mile limit with a further wind farm immediately adjacent which may impact on vessels routing from North West / South East Duncansby Head to Rattray Head. In addition, a small wind farm is p.a.ned close to shore at Aberdeen which again will have implications for the routing of shipping ( GLA, 2010).

7.14 Social and Community

7.14.1 Regional Activity

7.14.1.1 Demographics

The population of the North East Region is summarised in Image 38 (in red). The Image shows that the population of the North East is slightly greater in the 45-49 and 50-54 age bands, but is lower than the national average for ages greater than 55. The overall average age in North East Region is 39 years old (the same as the national average). The total population in North East Region is 630,000 ^[64] .

Image 39 shows the change in population for people of working age, pensionable age and children from 1996 to 2010. The chart shows that the populations of working age people and people of pensionable age increased, while the number of children decreased. The largest change was in the number of people of pensionable age, which increased by 22.4% (from 114,000 in 1996 to 139,000 in 2010). The working age population increased by 3.9% from 423,000 in 1996 to 439,000 in 2010, although most of this increase has been seen since 2005. Before then, the working age population decreased slightly. The population of children has decreased by 8.9% (from 135,000 in 1996 to 123,000 in 2010).

Image 38. Comparison of the Population of North East Region with National Average

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

Image 39. Change in Population 1996-2010 in the North East Region

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

7.14.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Median weekly earnings for full-time employees varied from £280.40 per week (Moray) to £399.50 per week (Aberdeen City) in 2001, a difference of £119.10 per week. By 2010, the difference between the lowest median weekly income was £156.20 (£420.70 in Moray and £576.90 in Aberdeen City). This is equivalent to an increase of £140.30 (50%) in Moray and £177.40 (44%) in Aberdeen City. The largest change was seen in Aberdeenshire, with an increase of £192.50 (58.4%) in Aberdeenshire and the lowest increase was in the Highlands (£133.60 or 41.3%). When inflation is taken into account, the increase in Moray is 16% and for Aberdeen City is 12%. For Aberdeenshire, the increase in real terms is 22% and in the Highlands it is 9.5%.

Table 194 shows employment data by industry sector for the North East. The table shows that the greatest number of jobs are associated with Sectors Q (human health and social work activities) (15% of the total for 2010) and G (wholesale and retail) at 14%. Other industry sectors accounting for around 10% of jobs are professional, scientific and technical activities (M) at 9.6%. Of particular significance in the North East is mining and quarrying at 7.3% (reflecting the importance of the Oil and Gas industry). Less significant in the North East are real estate activities (L) (0.9%), water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E) at 0.6%, and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (0.4%). Agriculture, forestry and fishing makes up just 0.9%. Accommodation and food services activities make up 7.2% while arts, entertainment and recreation (R) account for around 2% of all jobs in the North East.

Table 194. Employment data by industry sector in the North East

Industry Sector	Full-time		Part-time		Total
	2009	2010	2009	2010	2009	2010
A. Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,726	2,018	215	1,180	1,944	3,188
B. Mining and quarrying	24,984	26,382	886	559	25,869	26,945
C. Manufacturing	30,759	29,420	3,071	3,249	33,829	32,674
D. Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	959	1,414	57	79	1,014	1,483
E. Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	2,235	2,184	159	124	2,395	2,309
F. Construction	20,175	18,410	1,282	1,308	21,457	19,730
G. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	29,572	28,987	23,403	23,758	52,954	52,741
H. Transportation and storage	14,290	12,660	2,582	1,956	16,866	14,630
I. Accommodation and food service activities	12,485	12,413	15,686	14,012	28,181	26,428
J. Information and communication	5,413	5,482	1,610	1,979	7,035	7,463
K. Financial and insurance activities	3,491	3,140	996	759	4,494	3,911
L. Real estate activities	2,187	2,193	1,203	953	3,392	3,150
M. Professional, scientific and technical activities	30,982	30,765	5,352	4,535	36,341	35,295
N. Administrative and support service activities	16,925	15,479	5,462	6,731	22,389	22,209
O. Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	12,891	13,905	6,551	6,335	19,441	20,241
P. Education	14,794	15,043	12,680	12,999	27,468	28,040
Q. Human health and social work activities	27,166	26,500	29,893	28,142	57,056	54,632
R. Arts, entertainment and recreation	3,630	3,310	4,321	4,488	7,960	7,792
S. Other service activities	2,996	2,983	3,197	3,170	6,191	6,149
Total	257,660	252,688	118,606	116,316	376,276	369,010

Notes: NOMIS statistics show 0 jobs for sectors T and U

(Source: ONS, 2011)

Crofting

Crofting can be defined as small-scale subsistence farming, a croft being a small unit of land which is often located on a larger estate ^[65] . Crofting land is often poor quality and holdings are small. The crofting counties in this region include Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey and the North East Highland counties of Caithness, Ross-Shire and Sutherland. There are 435 crofts with 32,470 households in parishes containing crofts in Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey. The NE Highland area contains a much greater number of crofts with 2757 (George Street Research, 2007). The average income from crofting activities is however, higher in the Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey crofting counties (£11,240 accounting for 47.27% of overall household income) compared to the NE Highlands (£9,800 accounting for 36.45% of household income) (Hilliam, 2007).

7.14.2.1 Health

The local authority area with the highest proportion of the population that considered their health to be good or very good was Aberdeenshire (88.7%) in 2001/2002 and Moray (92%) in 2007/2008. The lowest proportions were in Moray (87.2%) in 2001/2002 and Aberdeen City (88.7%) in 2007/2008. The change in Aberdeenshire in 2007/2008 was 90.2%, an increase since 2001/2002.

7.14.2.2 Equality

Table 195 presents the results from the index of deprivation for the North East, for all datazones and coastal datazones. There are 193 coastal datazones in the North East Region, 22% of all datazones. The table shows that coastal datazones in the North East are much less likely to be in the 10% most affluent areas across all five indicators (education, skills and training; employment; income; housing; and health). This is reflected in the average ranking, which is consistently lower for the coastal datazones. However, the number of coastal zones that are within the most deprived decile is only slightly increased for employment (from 2% to 4%) and for housing (from 2% to 3%). This suggests that coastal datazones are more deprived than inland datazones, but most datazones still fall in the 80% that are neither deprived nor affluent.

Table 195. Index of deprivation for North East

NE	All Datazones
	Overall	Skills, Training and Education	Employment	Income	Housing	Health
Min (most deprived)	23	49	29	44	176	14
Max (most affluent)	6505	6497	6503	6504	6505	6503
Average	3979	3761	4134	4097	3899	3985
10% most deprived (total)	25	36	21	24	21	43
10% most deprived (as % of all)	3%	4%	2%	3%	2%	5%
10% most affluent (total)	128	96	180	164	113	132
10% most affluent (as % of all)	15%	11%	21%	19%	13%	15%
NE	Coastal Datazones
	Overall	Skills, Training and Education	Employment	Income	Housing	Health
Min (most deprived)	23	102	29	44	347	14
Max (most affluent)	6324	6341	6424	6340	6232	6452
Average	3477	3529	3654	3640	3844	3738
10% most deprived (total)	5	7	7	6	6	10
10% most deprived (as % of all)	3%	4%	4%	3%	3%	5%
10% most affluent (total)	4	6	18	11	13	13
10% most affluent (as % of all)	2%	3%	9%	6%	7%	7%

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

7.14.2.3 Skills, training and education

There are four local authorities allocated to the North East Region. Table 196 summarises data on the percentage of the population with a degree, with no qualification and receiving job-related training. The table shows the difference between the minimum and maximum result by local authority across the region.

Table 196. Summary of education and skills in the North East

North East	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Percentage with a degree (minimum)	10%	12%	13%	13%	14%	13%	13%
Percentage with a degree (maximum)	22%	22%	23%	27%	29%	30%	30%
Percentage with no qualifications (minimum)	11%	10%	11%	9.2%	10%	8.2%	6.6%
Percentage with no qualifications (maximum)	18%	14%	15%	13%	11%	11%	9.6%
Percentage receiving job-related training (minimum)	29%	26%	27%	26%	28%	23%	26%
Percentage receiving job-related training (maximum)	35%	33%	40%	35%	32%	31%	30%

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

The range of results given in Table 205 is greatest for the percentage with a degree, with minimum of 10% in 2004 increasing to 13% in 2010 (Moray). The maximum is 22% in 2004 increasing to 30% in 2010 (Aberdeen City).

In terms of the population with no qualifications, the range is between 11% and 18% in 2004, and between 6.6% and 9.6% in 2010. The area with the highest proportion of the population with no qualifications is Moray in both 2004 and 2010. The minimum values are for Aberdeenshire in 2004 and Highland in 2010 (Aberdeenshire has 8.2% with no qualifications in 2010).

The area offering the lowest proportion of job-related training in 2004 was Aberdeenshire, very closely followed by Highland (29%). The areas with the highest rates of job-related training were Moray followed by Aberdeen City (32%) in 2004 and Aberdeen City, closely followed by Moray (30%) in 2010.

The minimum drive time to a college of Further or Higher Education in the North East Region is an average of 53 minutes (Highland and Aberdeenshire) to a maximum of 100 minutes (Aberdeen City). The average is around 74 minutes, with Moray at 89 minutes.

Taken altogether, the statistics suggest that the workforce has higher qualifications, but work-based skills obtained through job-related training may be reducing.

7.14.2.4 Access to services

There are four local authorities in the North East and the highest occupancy is in Aberdeenshire (at 94%) with vacant spaces at 4.3%. The lowest occupancy rate is in Highland (90%), with vacant spaces at 4%. This shows that there is only small variation in potential housing pressure across these four local authorities.

Figure 80 shows that house prices in the North East Region are generally higher than the national average, with the exception of Moray. Even in Moray, mean house sale prices (£148,549) were only 4% below the national average in 2010. The highest house sale prices are in Aberdeenshire, with a mean value of £206,173, or 34% higher than the national average. Bank of Scotland (2011) shows that Highland is the second least affordable area in Scotland, with 27.6% of disposable earning being spent on mortgage payments. Aberdeenshire is third at 26.9%, Moray is fourth highest at 26.2%, and Aberdeen City is tenth highest at 24.1% (these compare with an average for Scotland of 22.4%). Highland has the one of the highest house price to earnings ratios for first-time buyers in Scotland (4.2), with Moray close behind at 4.0 (Bank of Scotland, 2011a).

Council house debt in the North East is around the average for Scotland (£9,265 per house) for Moray (£9,068 per house), Aberdeen City (£9,404 per house) and Aberdeenshire (£9,756 per house) but is higher (£11,123) for Highland. The condition of housing is slightly better for social sector and private dwellings in the North East than in Scotland as a whole with 60% of social sector dwellings failing the SHQS (compared with the Scottish average of 66%) and 65% of private sector dwellings (compared with 69% for Scotland).

Table 197 shows the mean and median drive time to different services in the North East Region, and the datazones with the shortest and longest drive times, by service type. The mean and median times are generally short (all less than 7 minutes). The longest drives are to petrol stations and supermarkets showing that some communities are further from these services but most communities are likely to have reasonable access to services.

Table 197. Drive time to services in North East Region

Service	Drive Time in Minutes
	Mean	Median	Shortest	Longest
GP	4.8	3.4	0.8	27
Petrol station	5.5	3.8	0.9	40
Post office	3.3	2.6	0.7	18
Primary school	3.3	2.5	0.8	19
Supermarket	6.6	3.7	0.7	66

(Source: Scottish National Statistics, 2011)

7.14.2.5 Community empowerment - Case Study

Alness

Through community volunteers the town of Alness has rebuilt their community following mass unemployment from the loss of oil projects and an aluminium smelter. With support from the Highland Council and many other funders, several community organisations have been established. Projects have included the establishment of a heritage centre, major improvements to the town centre through hanging baskets and flower beds, and new facilities such as parks and cycle paths. Together with the local council a project to reduce fuel poverty was set up with over £50,000 provided by Scottish and Sothern Energy.

7.14.2.6 Quality of life

The highest perceived quality of life in the North East Region in 2007/2008 was in Aberdeenshire, where 69.8% rated their neighbourhood as good or very good. The lowest was in Aberdeen City at 54%. There has been an increase in the percentage of adults rating their neighbourhood positively since 1999/2000 in three of the four local authorities: the percentage in Aberdeen City has increased by 8.9%, in Aberdeenshire the increase was 8.8% and in Moray the increase was 5.2%. In Highland, though, the percentage has decreased from 62.9% in 1999/2000 to 62.3% in 2007/2008. Although this is only a 0.6% decrease, the change since 2005/2006 is much larger, decreasing by 5.2% (from 67.5%).

7.14.2.7 Energy and resource consumption

Table 198 shows the average and range of electricity consumption across domestic customers for 2009, and then the change between 2005 and 2009. The table shows that average consumption (per household) in the North East Region was 10.4 MWh in 2009 (compared with an overall estimated average per household for Scotland of 5.7 MWh). A reduction in MWh consumed per household was seen in both local authorities, although the change is small.

Table 198. Electricity consumption in North East Region

Statistic	Domestic Customer ( MWh per household)
Average consumption ( GWh, 2009)	6.4
Lowest Consumption	4.9
Local Authority area	Aberdeen City
Highest consumption ( GWh, 2009)	8.2
Local Authority area	Highland
Largest reduction in consumption ( GWh, 2005-2009)	-0.4
Local Authority area	Aberdeen City; Aberdeenshire; Highland
Smallest reduction in consumption ( GWh, 2005-2009)	-0.3
Local Authority area	Moray

(Source: based on Scottish National Statistics, using total electricity consumption by domestic customers
by local authority divided by occupied household spaces per local authority)

Table 199 shows the population considered to be in fuel poverty between 2004/2007 and 2007/2009 for the whole of the North East Region. The table shows that those households where the highest income earner ( HIH) is 60+ are more likely to be in fuel poverty than the whole population in 2007/2009. At 52.0%, this is higher than the national average of 45.9% for this group. The percentage of HIH 60+ in fuel poverty has also increased over time. There is variation across the region, with the highest percentage of HIH 60+ being in fuel poverty at 58.2% (Moray) and the lowest being 42.7% (Aberdeen City). Across the whole population, the highest percentage is in Highland (36.2%) and the lowest in Aberdeen City (21.8%). The change in percentage of the whole population in fuel poverty is an increase, ranging from just +1.9% in Aberdeenshire (from 29.7% to 31.6%) to +4.7% in Highland (from 31.5% to 36.2%).

Table 199. Population considered to be in fuel poverty in North East Region

Population	% of Population in Fuel Poverty
	2004/2007	2005/2008	2007/2009
All	26.6%	28.8%	30.3%
Any disability or long term sick	24.4%	26.6%	25.9%
No disability or long term sick	30.4%	34.2%	36.0%
HIH 60+	47.9%	51.9%	52.0%
HIH under 60	12.7%	15.3%	15.3%
Female HIH	33.0%	37.7%	39.3%
Male HIH	22.8%	25.0%	24.6%

(Source: Scottish National Statistics, 2011)

7.14.3 Future Trends

Table 200 summarises the statistics and trends discussed above to give an indication of the likely future changes by indicator, comparing national with local trends (where data are available). There is much greater uncertainty over trends for the time period of 30 to 50 years and, in both cases, it is assumed that future trends follow recent and historic trends. The table only includes rows for which there are data at the regional level. For national projections where regional data are not available refer to Section 2.14.3.

Table 200. Summary of future trends in North East Region

7.15 Telecomm Cables

7.15.1 Regional Activity

In this region, cables passing through inshore and offshore waters, comprise of a segment of the SHEFA 2 cable, linking mainland Scotland and Orkney and a fibre optic communications network linking 'Points of Presence' between BP's Aberdeen office and several offshore oil p.a.forms (as shown in Figure 167, Table 201), Figure 167 which also indicates the approximate landfall locations (note, not necessarily within this region) and capacity of these cables.

Table 201. Subsea telecommunication cables in the North East Region

Cable	To/from	Capacity	Length of Cable in Region ( km)
Central North Sea ( CNS) Fibre Optic	Cruden Bay (Scotland), Forties Charlie, North Everest, Ula (North sea p.a.forms)	155Mbps	297.9
SHEFA-2 Seg 9	Banff to Mance Bay	570Gbps	101.3

(Sources: http://www.submarinecablemap.com/; http://www.bp.com/assets/bp_internet/globalbp/STAGING/global_assets/downloads/S/scotland_central_north_sea.pdf)

7.15.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

There is currently no agreed method for valuing the services provided by cables as they form part of a wider infrastructure. Although employment within this sector is provided by the ONS ABI the proportion of these employees associated with subsea telecommunication cables is unknown.

7.15.3 Future Trends

No specific information on future trends for this region was found. For national projections refer to Section 2.15.3.

7.16 Tourism

7.16.1 Regional Activity

Tourist sites in North East Scotland are concentrated along main routes (e.g. A9, A95, etc.), geographic features (e.g. Loch Ness) and the coast, as shown by Figure 168. There are a considerable number of natural heritage attractions, as well as historic/heritage attractions. Coastal and maritime cultural heritage assets can be seen in Figure 169. They are reasonably evenly spread along the coast and include several coastal heritage museums, a historic shi p.a.d a couple of accessible heritage assets. North East Scotland additionally has a significant number of designated bathing waters and seaside awards, as indicated by Figure 170. Although there are a couple of inland designated bathing waters, the majority are found on the coast and thus are likely to be relevant when considering offshore renewables. There are also two designated Marine Special Areas of Conservation ^[66] ; the Moray Firth and an offshore area; Scanner Poc kmark. Both of these will need to be taken into account by the offshore renewables industry

Information on the number of visitors to areas within the region can be based on data from VisitScotland. Visitor figures for those from the UK and abroad visiting the East Region are as follows (VisitScotland, 2009):

• Highlands:
  • - UK visitors: made 1.87 million trips, spent £436 million and stayed 8.35 million nights; and
  • - Overseas visitors: made spent 0.46 million trips, spent £129 million and stayed for 2.2 million nights.
• Aberdeen and Gra mp.a.:
  • - UK visitors: made 1.25 million trips, spent £246 million and stayed 4.38 million nights. Of this, 60% of trips were made by Scottish visitors while 51% of spend came from English visitors; and
  • - Overseas visitors: made 0.24 million trips, spent £98 million and stayed for 1.67 million nights.

7.16.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

No economic value or employment information which is specific to the North East region has been identified (other than the tourist expenditure information given above).

7.16.3 Future Trends

For further discussion on trends in tourism, see Section 2.16.3 (National Overview)

7.17 Waste Disposal

7.17.1 Regional Activity

The location of open, disused and closed dredge disposal sites in this region are shown in Figure 171. The total area of seabed used for dredge spoil disposal in this region, calculated from open disposal sites, is about 7.1 km ² (Table 202).

Table 202. Area of seabed covered by open disposal sites in the North East Region

Name of Disposal Ste	Area of Seabed (m²)
Inverness	0.021
Fraserburgh	0.058
Lossiemouth	0.070
Peterhead	0.364
Aberdeen	0.368
Helmsdale	0.418
North Buchan Ness	0.524
Burghead	1.446
Buckie	1.447
Macduff	1.448
Loch Inchard	0.125
Sutors	0.212
Whiteness Sands C	0.354
Whiteness Sands B	0.254
Total	7.109

(Source: Based on Cefas data, 2011)

The licensed and actual tonnage of dredge spoil disposed of at open sites in this region in 2009/10 and 2010/11 are shown in Table 203.

Table 203. Licensed and actual dredge disposal tonnage at sites in the North East Region

Origin of Dredge Spoil	Dredge Disposal Site	License Dates	Licensed Tonnage	Actual Tonnage
Stonehaven	Stonehaven B*	01/03/10-28/02/11	6000	4324
Aberdeen	Aberdeen	01/05/09-30/04/10	195000 (M)	0
Aberdeen	Aberdeen	01/05/09-30/04/10	14000 (C)	0
Aberdeen	Aberdeen	20/05/10-19/05/13	870000 (M)	254850
Aberdeen	Aberdeen	20/05/10-19/05/13	30000 (C)	8185
Boddam	North Buchan Ness	15/09/09-14/09/10	15000	12141
Buckie	Buckie	01/09/09-31/08/10	25600	0
Buckie	Buckie	01/09/10-31/08/11	25600	1648
Findochty	Buckie	01/03/09-28/02/10	5000	0
Burghead	Burghead	01/09/09-31/08/10	32000	18346
Burghead	Burghead	01/09/10-31/08/11	32000	0
Fraserburgh	Fraserburgh	01/04/09-31/03/10	25500	0
Macduff	Macduff	23/06/09-22/05/10	52000	3644
Macduff	Macduff	29/06/10-28/06/11	52000	0
Peterhead	Peterhead	07/05/10-06/05/11	22000	22000
Peterhead	North Buchan Ness	30/01/09-29/01/10	9000	0
Peterhead	North Buchan Ness	16/04/09-15/04/10	270000	0
Peterhead	North Buchan Ness	16/04/09-15/04/10	270000	9352

M Maintenance dredge; C = capital dredge * Note this disposal sites also falls within the East Region and hence the dredge spoil quantity shown cannot be assigned completely to the North East Region.

(Source: Marine Scotland Data, 2011a)

7.17.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not possible to calculate the GVA associated with dredge spoil disposal (Baxter et al, 2011). Figures are not available on the direct employment within this activity.

7.17.3 Future Trends

The Scottish National Planning Framework 2 (Scottish Government, 2009b) identified future port developments, which may require dredging, including the development of ports and sites in the Inner Moray Firth. A strategy prepared by the Highland Council highlighted Cromarty Firth, which provides service base facilities and sheltered moorings for offshore Oil and Gas industry, and the potential of Nigg as a facility for decommissioning Oil and Gas installations and the manufacture and support services required by the renewable energy industry. In addition, the NRIP identified Nigg, Aberdeen, Ardersier, Peterhead and Wick as sites in this region which may support the offshore wind and/or wave and tidal industries. Infrastructure development at these sites may require dredging, for example, the NRIP identified potential dredging requirements to fulfil infrastructure requirements at Ardersier (dredging of sand would be required for the outer channel) and Aberdeen (widening of entrance channel to accommodate large vessels) (Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2010b).

7.18 Water Sports

7.18.1 Regional Activity

7.18.1.1 Surfing and windsurfing

Surfing is popular on the South side of the Moray Firth ( SAS, 2010). Figure 172 shows the surf locations in this region. The SAS (2009) report shows about 25 surfing locations occur within the North East SORER and these are listed in Table 204 below.

Table 204. Surfing and windsurfing locations in the North East Region

General Location	Surf Location	Windsurf Locations
Moray Firth - North	Sinclair's Bay	Sinclair's Bay
	Keiss
	Ackergill
Moray Firth - South	Lossiemouth	Nairn
	Spey Bay	Findhorn Bay
	Sandend Bay	Sandend Bay
	Fraserburgh	Fraserburgh
	Cullen
	Boyndie Bay
	Banff
	Pennan
	Wisemans
	Phingask
	West point
	Sunnyside Bay
Eastern coast (South of Fraserburgh)	St Combs to Inverallochy	St Combs
	Peterhead to St Combs	Scotstown
	Cruden Bay	Cruden Bay
	Stonehaven	Stonehaven
	Balmedie to Newburgh	Balmedie
	Aberdeen Beach	Aberdeen Beach
	Aberdeen Harbour
	Nigg Bay
	Sandford Bay
	Inverbervie

(Source: Based on SAS, 2009 and the Windsurf Magazine 'beach guide' 2011)

7.18.1.2 Scuba diving

Most scuba diving sites are located in the inner Moray Firth and around the populated areas of Fraserburgh, Peterhead and Aberdeen (Figure 173). Several dive centres and charter boats and nine dive clubs operate in the area ( Table 205).

Table 205. The number of dive centres, charter boats and diving clubs found in North East Region

Facilities	Number
Dive Centres	4
Charter Boats	2
ScotSAC Branches	3
BSAC Branches	6

(Source: BSAC: http://www.bsac.com/; ScotSAC: http://www.scotsac.com/; and http://finstrokes.com)

7.18.1.3 Angling

The area is particularly noted for cod, but in general offers reasonable mixed fishing, with flatfish and mackerel in summer and reasonable prospects of coleys, wrasse and ling (Radford et al. 2009). Aberdeen is a popular shore and charter boat angling location (Land Use Consultants, 2007).

7.18.1.4 Small sail boat activity and Sea kayaking

Dinghy sailing clubs in the North East Region are located in the inner Moray Firth, Peterhead and at Aberdeen (Figure 174). Sea kayaking is a popular activity along the Gra mp.a. coast (Land Use Consultants, 2007) (Figure 175).

7.18.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Regional economic data was available for surfing and windsurfing, and recreational angling within this region.

7.18.2.1 Surfing and windsurfing

Fraserburgh, one of the most popular surfing location in this area and regularly holds surf competitions and events such as the UK Surf Tour and Fraserburgh Surf Festival. A survey conducted by Event Scotland predicted the Fraserburgh Surf Festival competition would generate a £100,000 windfall for the town, with surfers and visitors making use of local hotels and restaurants ^[67] .

7.18.2.2 Angling

Radford et al (2009) estimated the sea angling activity and economic value in eight regions of Scotland. Two of these regions, North and North East Scotland fall within the North East SORER. As the areas in Radford et al (2009) do not align with the SORERs the values should only be taken as indicative values for comparison between areas.

The total estimated regional sea angling activity and expenditure within these two regions is shown in Table 206 below.

Table 206. Estimated regional sea angling activity and expenditure in North East Region

Region	No. Resident Sea Anglers	Annual Sea Angler Days Spent in Region	% of Total Activity Undertaken on the Shore	Total Annual Sea Angler Expenditure (£M)	% of Expenditure Spent on Shore Angling	Number of Jobs Supported
North Scotland	7894	144346	43%	11.2	41%	299
North East Scotland	8904	234307	55%	15.5	57%	343

(Source: Radford et al, 2009)

There are no regional employment figures for activities directly relating to water sports.

7.18.3 Future Trends

No regional detail on future trends were available, please refer to Section 2.18.3 for national projections.