LOCAL MP OFFICIALLY OPENS CAIRNBULG HARBOUR

Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford officially opened Cairnbulg Harbour development on Saturday.

The MP cut a ribbon to mark the end of this phase of development which has taken many years of effort and fundraising by the local community. A pontoon has been installed in the latest work and all berths have been taken up. In addition to small locally-owned fishing vessels, a local man is operating boat trips out of the harbour in a boost to local business and the economy.

Commenting after the opening ceremony, Dr Whiteford said:

"This is a great day for Cairnbulg and the community can be rightly proud of its achievement here today.

"Getting to this stage has not only taken many years of effort on the part of individual committee members, but also a huge fundraising effort on the part of the local community, backed up by support from the lottery, LEADER funding and Aberdeenshire Council amongst others.

"It really is a tremendous facility and I'm delighted to see it being so well-used. In particular, the boat trips are a fantastic initiative and should help draw visitors into Cairnbulg which I hope will in turn see them supporting local shops.

"The fact that we had such a glorious sunny afternoon for the opening ceremony made it all the more special for Cairnbulg and I wish the committee well in their future plans for the harbour."