'Sinking ship' warning over county economy

[haggiseater19]

Writtenby Gordon Calder
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/...y-15082013.htm

Havingread this article in the John O’Groat Journal, it amazes me that both Mr Milnesand Mr Sinclair were “surprised” and “disappointed and puzzled” by this pressrelease. I have read the ‘Groat‘ for many years and seen Mr Milnes name appearwithin its pages on numerous
occasions decrying the efforts of officialdom to attract new business to Caithnessalong with improving its infrastructure. It really must be hard for Mr Milnesto remain critical of the establishment now that he sits inside it on the CSRPAdvisory Board.

Mr Sinclair (CNSRP) always has a positive story within his on-line blog; I justwant to know how many of these positives actually turn into jobs? Gents, I think it is time to wake up andsmell the coffee, Caithness is teetering on the brink and we need some clarityof where we are.

I am not a union member and have no political affiliation either, I do have onenagging question though, if the GMB are ‘out on a limb’ with their efforts tobring everyone together for the good of the community – where does that leaveall the other unions and their memberships within Caithness
(Unite, Unison, Prospect, NFU, CWU, NASUWT, NUT, ACCORD, EIS and probably more)?Are they content to say nothing, do they agree or disagree with the GMB’s callfor action?

Iagree there has been money spent in the county in places such as Scrabster,Wick Harbour, Engineering Technology and Energy Centre and Centre for Energy andthe Environment and John O’Groats – but how many jobs has been created and atwhat cost? Make the Right Connectionsskills transition project is probably good if you can get funding, there aremany who have tried and can’t, this is tax payers money and someone should beclearly accountable for how it is spent and the benefits published for all tosee.

700created or retained full-time jobs – where and with whom? I haven’t heard of many jobs being createdbut we’ve all seen them being lost.

[hopper.65]

There is no question Caithness is in a pretty bad way as far as it's economy goes, and no way have 700 jobs been created, it's plain and simple when Dounreay really enters the final years, if substantial new employer is not attracted we as a community will be left in tatters and it's getting closer and closer.
I have felt Caithness has been really struggling now for many years with many shops really struggling to make a living from hen's pickings.
During the 80's and 90s the towns had much more going for it, the pubs would be packed at weekends with punters , look at them now they may get a couple of hours on a Saturday night then the rest is pretty quiet.
Now i am pretty sure this is not down to people reducing their alcohol intake but more the fact they don't have disposable income anymore and that is key to most successful towns to prosper.
There seems to be an air of doom and gloom about Caithness people these days and seldom do they support local events or businesses, choosing to save extra cash then spend it elsewhere.
The Gala is getting less of a turnout each year and only today i read of the B fest being scrapped of which i was not in the least bit surprised to hear!
I think you need to be mad to consider starting a retail business in Caithness as it stands you only need to study the amount of people on the streets to realise you are going to struggle, that's why we don't see any multiples on our high st, they have no question had people look at it for possibilities to open up shop but their findings will without doubt make the vast majority remain uninterested.
Tourism in Caithness is nothing short of a joke with less and less people choosing to stop here and most don't think it's worth the effort to make the the other 100 miles north from Inverness and we all know why, you can't rely on attracting tourists on wild endless sky Caithness and unless you have family attractions you will only see it get worse.
What i say may seem harsh but it's the reality of the situation we are in and only way it will ever change is by some big employers setting up shop in the county and does anyone think this is about to happen as i don't, and if there is it is high time they gave some sort of indication of whats in order to give people some kind of hope of an improvement , instead of fobbing us of with claims that are not in the slightest way how it seems to the people of Caithness.

[Birons]

We sell razor blades and other sharp implements for anyone wishing to end it all before its too late. Jesus, talk about doom and gloom mongers .

[Kodiak]

haggiseater, I can see that you are going to be a real FUN type of poster here at the org. NOT, but thanks to Birons for making me smile.

[Gronnuck]

If there are no jobs who's going to fill all that accommodation that's been built next to the B876 just south-east of Bower?

[hopper.65]

We sell razor blades and other sharp implements for anyone wishing to end it all before its too late. Jesus, talk about doom and gloom mongers .

Doom and gloom in life is up to the individual to change, i am pretty happy with mine but it doesn't change the fact there is a huge problem looming on the horizon and if it isn't taken seriously and those who think it is live for today and wait to see what tomorrow holds will find this county with an ever decreasing quality of life.
With no jobs people have to go elsewhere and a greatly reduced population means public amenities start to be withdrawn, like swimming pools, cinema, schools close, hospitals, shops the list goes on.
There are places that this has happened to before and we look to be heading for the same.
It shouldn't be a surprise that some don't want this to happen and voice their concerns on what is being done about it!

[Big Gaz]

We sell razor blades and other sharp implements for anyone wishing to end it all before its too late. Jesus, talk about doom and gloom mongers .

Now now Kevin, you know it's illegal to sell sharp blades to children!

[mi16]

Now now Kevin, you know it's illegal to sell sharp blades to children!

bit of flatbar and a file would be ok theough

[Alice in Blunderland]

We sell razor blades and other sharp implements for anyone wishing to end it all before its too late. Jesus, talk about doom and gloom mongers .

Now if you can just persuade enough people to go out and slash their wrists because of the doom and gloom outlook the knock on effect will be brilliant. The undertakers trade will go up thus employing more joiners to make the coffins. The hotels will be able to charge an arm and a leg for the wake.People will go out fall down drunk and rip their clothes McAllans can then sell them more. taxis will have to ferry the folks home as they are not supposed to drink and drive......hm but this is Caithness since when have we listened to advice. See the knock on effect from Birons selling razor blades will be immense Kevin will be crowned King all hail King Kev.

[Birons]

That's a much more optimistic view of the situation Alice, I knew I would come good eventually.

[Moira]

We sell razor blades and other sharp implements for anyone wishing to end it all before its too late. Jesus, talk about doom and gloom mongers .

Ah, the gloom mongers are always present.

They just don't "do upbeat" and open a shop on the high street or believe that Wick and/or Caithness has a future.

Love the humour in your post btw.....

[mi16]

Ah, the gloom mongers are always present.They just don't "do upbeat" and open a shop on the high street or believe that Wick and/or Caithness has a future.Love the humour in your post btw.....

Well at the moment the future looks bleak?Where is the work in the area?

[Alice in Blunderland]

We sell razor blades and other sharp implements for anyone wishing to end it all before its too late. Jesus, talk about doom and gloom mongers .

Now if you can just persuade enough people to go out and slash their wrists because of the doom and gloom outlook the knock on effect will be brilliant. The undertakers trade will go up thus employing more joiners to make the coffins. The hotels will be able to charge an arm and a leg for the wake.People will go out fall down drunk and rip their clothes McAllans can then sell them more. taxis will have to ferry the folks home as they are not supposed to drink and drive......hm but this is Caithness since when have we listened to advice. See the knock on effect from Birons selling razor blades will be immense Kevin will be crowned King all hail King Kev.

Well at the moment the future looks bleak?Where is the work in the area?

See above posts that's just the tip of the iceberg

[Oddquine]

Well at the moment the future looks bleak?Where is the work in the area?

The work will come when the UK Govenment wants somewhere well out of the highly populated areas to set up a prototype for something which might be dangerous but they don't quite know if it will be yet. It's why Caithness got Dounreay......because there wouldn't be (tens of) thousands of UK citizens in the Thurso area in Caithness to be affected if their probability calculations were utter crap..so it didn't really matter.

What do you fancy? The repository for all the UK nuclear trash for storage for the next x-number of years.....or maybe the ability to glass the worlds nuclear waste so they can get it out of their countries and will accept it back from us as something they can store safely despite the effects on us?

Let's be honest...as far as the UK is concerned, Caithness (in fact the Highlands north of Inverness) are the arse-end of beyond and don't have enough votes to make any impact on what passes for democracy in the UK, so can safely be ignored, despite the fact that our constituency MP is part of the "ruling" coalition.

[mi16]

I would be fully behind either of the options you mention above.

[haggiseater19]

I'll start with two apologies:

1) For the poor formatting in my first posting, I admit it was a copy and paste and I didn't check how it looked prior to posting.
2) For the doom and gloom, although this one is ‘not’ my making!

Replying to some of the comments made in the replies. Yes, in the great scale of things Dounreay and Caithness are in the arse of beyond (as you put it) but if that part of the body is not functioning properly it will impact upon other areas too. It is how we draw attention to ourselves and highlight the issues in a positive way along with providing possible solutions that may move us forward and away from this cliff of despair.

I like living in Caithness and want to see our area prosper and not become a giro county. We need our local councillors, MSP and MP to raise questions on how we can retain the skills already present within our community and how best to employ them in future employment. I believe Dounreay faces a major run down in staff numbers within the six years; so there has to be some movement now on attracting new industries with the potential to expand and absorb some or all of these people.

I am not sure of how much has been spent at John O'Groats in an attempt to make it a tourist feature (does anyone?), I am sure it must run into the hundreds of thousands and will it really attract people to stay or will it always be one of the ways to travel to Orkney?

Orkney seem to know exactly how to market themselves and make the most of their tourist opportunities - whereas we sit and watch them pass by keeping their fingers crossed that they may spend some money as they make their way to and from Orkney.

I would just like to see some transparency (honesty if that fits better) when it comes to 'possibilities' in future employment, we all know a lot of things are possible but in reality very few possibilities actually come to fruition -so:

1) Where do we go now?
2) Who do we lobby?
3) Has anyone responded to the newspaper story in the last weeks Groat?
4) Do we say nothing and leave it to those already in place?

[Flavours]

Haggiseater and Hopper - I LIKED your posts. Doom and gloom they may be, but there's a lot of truth in what you say!

I am not sure of how much has been spent at John O'Groats in an attempt to make it a tourist feature (does anyone?), I am sure it must run into the hundreds of thousands and will it really attract people to stay or will it always be one of the ways to travel to Orkney?

Orkney seem to know exactly how to market themselves and make the most of their tourist opportunities - whereas we sit and watch them pass by keeping their fingers crossed that they may spend some money as they make their way to and from Orkney.

I would just like to see some transparency (honesty if that fits better) when it comes to 'possibilities' in future employment, we all know a lot of things are possible but in reality very few possibilities actually come to fruition -so:

1) Where do we go now?
2) Who do we lobby?
3) Has anyone responded to the newspaper story in the last weeks Groat?
4) Do we say nothing and leave it to those already in place?

A total of £6million was spent on the Natural Retreats John O'Groats accommodation, of that, £1.8 million was given by HIE. There is no money set aside for those ambitious about tourism, local artists and talent that may like to invest in John O'Groats or retail in general. Never has been, never will be as far as I can ascertain. So, as a direct result of this investment, we have:

23 luxury self-catering lodges, each sleeping 6
19 luxury self-catering apartments at the former hotel (1, 3 & 4 bedroom)

That's a lot of self-catering accommodation with very little in the way of infrastructure to support it. There is no evening restaurant provision on site (except for the excellent Seaview Hotel along the road); Geoff's superb cabin keeps us all going during the day and there is the lovely NR Storehouse, but nothing at night for visitors and guests wanting an evening meal; no grocery store; no leisure facilities for children or adults (except the Day Tour & Wildlife cruises and NR Rib and bike hire and a wee outside park for littlies). No retail park is planned (although there's been a lot of talk - rhetoric as far as I can make out). Except for treatment room(s) planned by NR, there is no spa, no Jacuzzi, gym or swimming pool......... The public toilets are shut very early for a so-called famous destination; the public transport links are nothing short of a disgrace (with no Sunday service) and no facilities for end to enders. I could go on, but you get the jist.

The accommodation is welcomed and the JOG facelift fantastic. [Anyone who knows me, knows I am an ambassador for John O'Groats and you will never hear me slagging off any attempts at improvements]. I am dismayed at the complete lack of planning, coordination or wherewithal to get John O'Groats trully on the map though. Recently, Stagecach pulled a vital bus link - the 8.10 p.m to Thurso just in time for the height of the season and the Day Tour from Orkney coming in with it's 100's of visitors using the bus to get back to their accommodation. No one batted an eyelid. Accountability and transparency are vital. Until the powers that be actually grasp the need for a strategic overview, the coachloads will continue to use the very useful parking facilities on their way to Orkney, with not so much as a fleeting glance at John O'Groats far less the rest of Caithness.

Tourism is a multi-billion pound industry in Scotland. For the Highlands, it is potentially the biggest industry there is. There is potential for tourism in Caithness to blow Dounreay out of the water....well, maybe not literally, that would be very dangerous indeed. John O'Groats is Highland Council's best asset, or at least it was. Maybe someone should have enlightened them before they were so quick to wash their hands of it.

I make no secret of the complete lack of interest in my own wee business - the several doors slammed in my face actually did us a favour in the end. Ironically, among the range of feedback I received when (unsuccessfully) applying for a very modest business loan to help Flavours with start up costs was that they "don't fund tourism". My most recent (and final) attempt was an outright rejection as my "main market is local". It would be funny if it wasn't so serious.

Onwards and upwards fellow orgers. Kevin is doing a grand job - Birons is a beacon in Wick, as is Hilltop, Divas and Dudes, Woody's, Meiklejohn's, Morags, Amanda's Florist and all those other Wick retailers doing their best in these difficult times. Sorry if I have missed anyone out - I don't get out of Groats much ...too busy serving those lovely locals and those marvelous tourists that love our County

[mi16]

If there was a post of the year award, i think Flavours would have it nailed with the above post, well done.
It seems to me that we have been spoiled in Caithness for the past 50 or so years, with Dounreay and fishing boosting the local area, I feel that we turned our backs on tourism as "Caithness didnt need tourists" all the while Orkney and other areas were adapting to embrace the tourist indistry and now have an established industry for the tourist.
We in Caithness are lagging behind badly and nothing seems to change, meanwhile the county is hemorrhaging good skilled workers heading for the South where employment with a future can be obtained.

[haggiseater19]

Flavours, I am glad you are defending Groats the same way as everyone now needs to defend their own corner of Caithness. I fear if we do not ALL voice our opinions, to try to get something kick-started we will all live to regret it before Dounreay gets fully decommissioned. My intention is not to slag off the people who are trying to attract investment into the county; I just want them to be aware that the 'locals' have grave reservations over the lack of visible progress.

I have just read Alex MacLeod's response to the GMB's letter in last week's Groat; I would love to reply but it would end up in a slanging match - does that get us anywhere .... I think not. I seem to remember Alex not that long ago querying the lack of progress too, so if nothing else let us all be consistent and stick with the one message. Oh and Alex, you are right Caithness do have highly qualified people (more than just engineers) and I agree they are highly sought .... so let's do something to keep them here!

I want Caithness to succeed and that will only happen if we speak with one voice, have the facts available to us to allow informed decisions to be made.

[Rheghead]

I want Caithness to succeed and that will only happen if we speak with one voice, have the facts available to us to allow informed decisions to be made.

I don't agree with that. 'One voice' implies that only the current mainstream views get heard but other creative views get ignored and you end up with a sterilised and monolithic tourist strategy that lacks variety which actually discourages visitors.

We have already seen the start of the point of which I am trying to make by the refusal of public sculptures at Dunnet because the 'committee' and the vocal minority didn't share the creative vision of the artists who were used in the consultation.