As we gradually get back to normality, news of two great fundraising efforts from Hogmanay. First the ceilidh in the hall in Cromarty raised £400 for Cromarty Rising. Second the Hogmanay raffle in the Cromarty Arms raised another £180. Thank you very much to everyone for their time and effort. If anyone out there has fundraising ideas then now is the time to start thinking about it – a Burns Supper? Car boot sale? Coffee Morning? Gig? Whatever your idea then it is all much appreciated. Every penny raised will used to fight this application. Remember – we are not getting paid a penny (nor would we want to be). We are a team of volunteers fighting this because it’s a really bad idea. “Buy cheap, pay twice” has never been more accurate in this instance – there is a great facility at Nigg Jetty to transfer oil, it has been done there safely for the past 30 years, and keeps forty staff in jobs. Move this to the open sea, as the Port are proposing, will cost oil companies a third of the price to undertake a transfer but with no on-shore support. The risk of something going wrong is greatly increased, not to mention the location being on top of the dolphin breeding and feeding grounds.
If something goes wrong then it risks wiping out dolphin, bird, seal and otter populations not to mention the financial cost. We are not against oil transfers or the oil industry – keep it at Nigg – it’s a safer alternative.