It was something of a shock to be informed that the area just outside our house had been chosen as the site for the new sewage pumping station. Since 2004 this site has handled – if that is the proper word – the bulk of the raw sewage load from the town and pumps it out to the treatment plant at the Targets.

When the project was carried out we were more than a little dismayed because the plans provided by the Council were as usual indecipherable and incomplete.  The final structure was significantly different, I think, from the paperwork.

Yet despite our misgivings the improvement to the shoreline of the whole town has been remarkable. No longer is there any evidence apart from normal flotsam of any of the ghastly detritus of modern sewage to be found on the shore, while the water quality has improved out of all recognition. How do I know that? For the last two years the number of migratory sea ducks which used to visit the old pipe on the beach daily to feed in the wintertime have almost disappeared, with only the odd merganser now showing up occasionally.

The Harbour – recently dredged – seems to be much cleaner and although debris from the Inner Firth still makes an occasional appearance, the whole Cromarty shoreline has been vastly improved. When winds come from the right direction the beach at the Links fills up with lovely clean white sand and everyone, especially visitors, enjoy what is a considerable local amenity.

Cromarty is of course renowned for its character as a town, and lately I myself have heard visitors remarking on how nice that “little cottage” at the foot of the Sutor looks. Sometimes I tell them, sometimes I don’t. So full marks to the originator of that design of sewage treatment plant.

By contrast, I remember being told by one of the workmen – when I enquired about landscaping the pumping station as the job drew to a close – that the gaffer was as we spoke working out a landscaping scheme, to all intents and purposes on the back of an envelope. The Community Council thoughtfully and thankfully took that particular duty from him.

The Sewage Project would – given the lack of controversy attaching to it – seem to be a great success and a good modern amenity for the future of the town.

As this is a personal view of the development, I would mention the contractors who built the pumping station. This work was carried out by a small, dedicated team of men from Perth whose professionalism and focus did great credit to them all. They carried out all their work with considerable consideration for the locals most affected by the necessary disturbance.

Cromarty Sea Change – by Archie Mactaggart, 25 years in Cromarty.