Around 50 stakeholders of the newly-renamed Port of Aberdeen attended the harbour owner’s annual general meeting at the Music Hall.
It was the first time since 2019 that the annual event has been held in person after being conducted online during the pandemic.
The AGM is open to the public – stakeholders on the near 900-year old port include members of the community as well as members of the board, employees, newly elected local authority counsellors, alongside members of civic society and journalists.
It was the first such meeting for Port of Aberdeen boss Bob Sanguinetti who took over the role in September 2021.
He and the board highlighted the change of name from Aberdeen Harbour to Port of Aberdeen, including the launch of a new video.
Watch the video:
The name change has been on the cards since a recent strategic review confirmed the harbour’s commitment to become Scotland’s premier net zero port.
Mr Sanguinetti was joined by Aberdeen Harbour Board chairman Alistair Mackenzie – Chairman, Keith Young, AHB’s Aberdeen harbour expansion project (AHEP) director and Richard Sweetnam, chief officer city growth, Aberdeen City Council.
Richard Caie, a well known Torry community leader, raised concerns about how much the AHB was speaking with residents of the city surrounding the port.
The community has raised several concerns over the industrialisation of the area, not least plans for the Energy Transition Zone nearby the south harbour. ETZ Ltd, which is developing plans for a renewable energies hub, is expected to submit a planning application soon for areas over an estimated 30-40 ha around Altens and Torry’s St Fittick’s park.
Mr Caie asked: “As a trust port one of your stakeholders is the community – how do you engage with the community? Because I’m not really sure where you do it and who you do it with.”
‘Torry is front and centre’
Mr Sanguinetti confirmed the harbour’s status as a trust port, which means it is government legislation ensuring profit made from operations are reinvested into the operation, maintenance, and administration of the port.
He said: “We are a trust port and a commmunity port and Torry is front and centre.
“We are trying to generate opportunities for a community we are part of.
“In terms of engagement with the community do we engage – yes. Do we engage enough? No. We need to do more particularly as we get closer to opening up at the part.”
He said the Covid pandemic “hadn’t helped” and pointed to the board’s plan to reopen the port’s visitor centre in Torry.
“We are looking at reopening and formalising that engagement process, so that we can engage more widely and more deeply into the community that we can make sure what we are doing is fully understood by the community we are part of,” he said.
“But I can say we can do better and we will do better on that front.”
The gallery:
Conversation