Plans for £20m Dounreay complex

Dounreay Nuclear Power Plant
The complex will be built opposite the Dounreay nuclear plant
A £20m business and leisure complex could be built opposite Scotland's largest nuclear power station.

Tulloch Dounreay Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inverness-based Tulloch Ltd, has bought 100 acres of the Upper Dounreay Farm in Caithness.

The company has unveiled plans to transform the land into hotels, a swimming pool, a restaurant and self-catering apartments.

It is thought the project could create up to 300 jobs.

The Dounreay site, which is run by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), is being decommissioned over the next 30 years.


It should be an excellent resource for sub-contractors and firms who do business at Dounreay and Vulcan
David Sutherland
Tulloch Dounreay Ltd

Tulloch Dounreay Ltd bought the land from owner Geoffrey Minter, of the nearby Sandside Estate.

Mr Minter has spent years in legal wrangles with the UKAEA over radioactive particles on Sandside beach.

It is understood a planning application to develop the site is being lodged with Highland Council.

David Sutherland, chairman of Tulloch, said: "The land we have acquired for this new development is strategically located across from the main gate of both Dounreay and the Vulcan nuclear establishment.

"Our intention is to develop an integrated business park which will enable users to focus on opportunities from decommissioning and nuclear-related work.

"It should be an excellent resource for sub-contractors and firms who do business at Dounreay and Vulcan.

'Major investment'

"It is a major investment in the area, should create and sustain many jobs and gives this locality a facility it has needed."

A spokesman for UKAEA said: "We welcome this initiative which is a positive commitment by our neighbours in Caithness."

Mr Minter said: "I am delighted to conclude a sale to Tulloch Dounreay Ltd for this ambitious project which should, on the back of Dounreay and its established highly skilled local workforce, attract some exciting new business and jobs to the area.

"There will be great activity in the decommissioning of Dounreay but we are also looking beyond that and to creating a business park which will lure companies and investment to the area."

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