SSE contractor RJ McLeod has signed a deal with John Gunn & Sons, the operator of Melvich Quarry, it has been reported.

It is understood the deal is worth seven figures.

Under the agreement, the quarry will provide concrete for the turbine bases at SSE's Strathy North wind farm, while also allowing its owners to invest in a new batching plant. This would allow the materials that are needed for the construction project to be mixed at the quarry site before they are delivered to the wind farm site.

The contract also provides job security for the quarry staff at John Gunn & Sons, plus creates the potential for local temporary positions during the course of the Strathy North building works.

Strathy North is a 68MW, 33-turbine wind farm which is located approximately 7km south of Strathy village in Sutherland. The main construction phase of the development commenced in February 2014 and the site is expected to become operational towards the end of 2015.

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Commenting on the agreement, David Gunn, Owner and Operator of Melvich Quarry in Caithness & Sutherland, said: "John Gunn & Sons Ltd has been in the civil engineering and quarry business for over 100 years and currently has 45 employees.

"We are pleased to be, once again, involved with RJ McLeod. The size of this contract has allowed us to install our new 60m³ per hour concrete plant which will be huge asset for the supply of concrete in the local area."

Rod Crawford, SSE Renewables' Project Manager for Strathy North, added: "SSE is delighted that a local company will benefit from this significant contract – it demonstrates the real commitment by SSE and RJ McLeod, our civil engineering contractor, to involve local businesses wherever we can and ensure that the project benefits the local area.

"Originally the plan was to batch the concrete at the wind farm site but this slightly revised arrangement with Gunns – to batch at the quarry using the new equipment – makes far more sense.

"As a responsible developer, and responsible neighbour, SSE looked closely at how the number of vehicle movements would be affected by this change. We have found that while there will be an increase in traffic, this will be limited and not significantly greater than previously anticipated."

(JP/IT)