Community

Montrose Port and Seagreen time capsule burial

At the heart of Montrose

As a Trust port, we take our place in the heart of the community as a serious responsibility. Every year we aim to improve our efforts in supporting our community in whatever way we can.

Montrose sits between the easy travelling distance of Dundee and Aberdeen on the A90 and is well served by public transport links.

A bustling coastal town, it is situated on the edge of a virtually landlocked two-mile-square lagoon of mud known as the Basin, which is a nature reserve and haven for wildfowl and wading birds. The site plays host to one of the largest autumn gatherings of pink-footed geese in Scotland during October and November.

Montrose Port enjoys a central location at the heart of the town and has grown steadily throughout its 527 year history. During this time it has been an important centre for various types of fishing, from salmon to whaling and herring including, for a time, a pearl fishery in the river itself. It has also been an important timber port, and for many centuries was one of Scotland's largest exporters of wool.

An important landmark – Scurdie Ness Lighthouse – has been protecting shipping along the coastline for 150 years and continues to guide ships and boats to this day.

An economic impact assessment found that the Port supports 384 permanent, full time employees both directly and indirectly. This equates to £13.6 million in annual salaries and £25.7 million GVA (Gross Value Added) which comes from operations at the Port and brings economic benefits to the wider Angus region.

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£440,000+
donated in the last four years to our community
Local causes Montrose Port has supported:
  • Poppy Scotland Montrose
  • Seafarer's Society
  • RNLI Montrose
  • Defibrillators in Angus Schools
  • Montrose Rugby Club
  • Montrose Womens FC
  • Montrose FC
  • Montrose Mens Shed
  • All Montrose Primary Schools
  • Montrose Community Trust
  • MoHUB
  • Debra - the Butterfly Skin Charity
  • Montrose Bowling Club
  • Hands of Stone Boxing Gym
  • CBC Hilton Youth Football Team
  • Montrose Air Station Heritage Museum
  • Gordon School of Dancing
  • East Grampians Coastal Partnership’s Turning The Plastic Tide
  • Guide Dogs Scotland
  • Angus Adoption and Fostering Group
Please Note: the community fund is now closed for the year.

the gable end

We donated £200,000 towards Montrose Community Trust’s £2 million funding goal for its transformational Gable End development. The donation represents the entirety of MPA’s Community Benefit Fund for 2025 and 2026 and reflects the port’s ongoing mission to support growth-enabling infrastructure and community-focused initiatives.

The Gable End facility will revitalise the Links Park Stadium entrance and provide new community spaces, including a community centre, digital lab, accessible sections, a dementia support area, and office space for the Trust’s staff. MCT currently runs 32 programmes impactful programmes that serve around 12,000 local people each year.

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Montrose Playhouse Sponsorship

We are the box office sponsor for the Montrose Playhouse, the new community cinema and arts centre in Montrose. The Playhouse opened to the public at the start of October 2021 after a three-year fundraising and construction project that transformed the old town swimming pool into a fantastic community arts hub, spear-headed by a group of local volunteers.

The arts hub facilitates a range of beneficial events and meetings for Montrosians including relaxed screenings for families, those with babies, those who are deaf or hard of hearing and for those with dementia. 

Each year we treat local primary school pupils to a Christmas trip to the Playhouse, spreading a bit of festive joy and demonstrating our ongoing support for this wonderful grassroots project and the benefits it has brought to our town and surrounding area.

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HMS Montrose

The town of Montrose shared a very special bond with the Royal Navy ship HMS Montrose which was named in its honour.

After a 30-year tenure, the Type 23 frigate was decommissioned in April 2023 after being deployed to Bahrain for three years as part of the Royal Navy operations east of Suez.

HMS Montrose had its final port call to its affiliate town in March 2023.

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Local sponsorships & programmes

Charity

Chosen angus charity of the year

DEBRA UK is a national medical research charity and patient outreach organisation dedicated to supporting those with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) and their families.

EB is a rare and extremely painful genetic skin condition which is thought to affect more than 5,000 people in the UK. Often known as “butterfly skin”, the disorder causes the skin to be extremely fragile, easily blistering under minimal trauma and friction.

Read this story
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Charity

The Seafarers Christian Friend Society
The Seafarers' Christian Friend Society (SCFS) now supports crew members at Montrose Port, offering practical, emotional, and spiritual care to those arriving from all over the world. Port Chaplain Mike Burleigh and Ship Visitor Elie Barakat lead the efforts, providing ship visits, resources like toiletries and knitted items, and onboard church services. Mike, previously with the Sailors’ Society, continues his long-standing support for seafarers in the area. Montrose Port is a key hub for offshore energy and cargo, and SCFS ensures a warm welcome for those passing through.
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Charity

RNLI
Established in 1800, Montrose Lifeboat Station is one of the oldest stations in the British Isles. Today it operates both an inshore D class lifeboat and an all-weather Shannon class lifeboat.
Learn more

More from the port

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Environment

Our commitment to sustainability
Read about the Port’s sustainability efforts and what we have been doing for the environment in our aim to be the greenest port in Scotland.
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Careers

Opportunities in the maritime industry

View and apply for career opportunities at Montrose Port Authority and across of maritime network.

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Our Community

Stories from the port and the local area
At the heart of Montrose, success at the Port has a knock on effect for the town and surrounding areas and the benefits are also felt the other way round too.
A large red and blue cargo ship is docked at an industrial port with warehouses and a crane. A small boat moves through the water in the foreground. Buildings and a church spire are visible in the background.

Quayside Services

Our partners at the port

We work with a number of third-party organisations to keep our customers moving and the port running efficiently. Learn more about what we offer for our customers at the Port.