Planners Give Go-ahead to Major Thurso Hotel Scheme

[The Horseman]

All of the visitors would have cars, thus some would be driving into Town for food. I know myself, if using a hotel, it is nice to get out for a wander....and a meal.
Perhaps it is time for 'new blood' in the Election process. Some of the people are 'locals' who have been around for years.
But it is quite common for the 'squeekie wheel' to get the attention, altho' they are few.
Do you think Crayola put a curse of the project? She does seem to have 'connections to the 'netherworld'! Exclamation!
In addition Dounreay will not be there is a few short years. The Gov't is running out of money and when that occurs, a high fence with barbed wire and Security Guards will be the answer. Care and Maintainance is the 'catchword' for such a decision....and the contamination will never go away. Call it what you may, it's there for the next thousands of years.

[Recycle it]

[QUOTE=moses;1161485]Raymond, have you not noticed, no matter what you try in Caithness be it Windmills, improving the Harbour or anything else you will always get some Fn idiot that feels they have got to object to it, as they have not got a life themselves they don't want anyone else to succeed,it's odd that they only come out of the woodwork when there is something to object to,I am sure if some of these objectors had half of your brains they would be over the moon,I therefore would like to wish you all the best in the future and hope the planning goes through.[/QUOTE
Can you expand on " be it Windmills ,improving the Harbour or anything else" please.

[Raymond Taylor]

I just put a statement on Thurso Bay Hotels Facebook site. My view of "proceedings" at Tuesdays Caithness Council meeting.

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It's wrong to have folk shouting for Councillors heads to roll over the outcome. It needs to Stop.

[cptdodger]

It's wrong to have folk shouting for Councillors heads to roll over the outcome. It needs to Stop.

So it's also wrong to expect councillors to do the job they were elected for then ? - "Councillors are here to represent the views and opinions of individuals." Not their own views and opinions.

[Recycle it]

Councillors are NOT there to dance to any individual needs or dreams,their there for the community has a whole . If any Councillors took your view they would be no need for Governance in Regional government which set the rules. Acting like a spoilt child does not move your case forward . To solve the problem first find out what stopped it, as I have stated "it was the right idea just the wrong site". If your mind is set on the prize ( the hotel) moved the site to another piece of ground you own ,a change of site would not be a stumbling block of many . If planning premission is the prize which in the future would lead or could open the door to more development thats totally different . What we have here is Politicians answers to Politicians questions and if you can't see that maybe ask the developer "WHY". When this was first muted years back ,it was said then the site was NOT acceptable , so why are they still beating that drum . There's a lot more questions to be answered and its not the Councillors they should be put to . I lived on the same road as the proposed hotel and could not get premission for a dropped curd to get my car off the main A9. So it ain't that Councillors are setting out their stall any different now.

[cptdodger]

Acting like a spoilt child ? Pot, kettle ....

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Acting like a spoilt child ? Pot, kettle ....

lets hear.it then .

[Rheghead]

So it's also wrong to expect councillors to do the job they were elected for then ? - "Councillors are here to represent the views and opinions of individuals." Not their own views and opinions.

Voters are supposed to elect someone who best represents them. Then the councillor's job is to act in the best interests of the community in accordance with how he/she feels is best. They'd make a poor councillor if they echo the majority's world view for fear of being unelected, that is mob rule. Their performance is judged at next election night.

[cptdodger]

Do you know what, it must be because I am not from here, but I just cannot get my head round this. What do you think is going to happen to Thurso when Dounreay and Vulcan close ? Who and what is going to employ all these people ? There is going to be a mass exodus from here when that happens. I hope you're not waiting on Holyrood for investment, because it is not going to happen.

I will quote you now " the councillor's job is to act in the best interests of the community" basically what you are saying is, it is not in the best interests of the community to create jobs, it is not in the best interests of the community to try to attract tourists here and not just use this place as a stopping off point for the Orkneys?

Seriously, all this over a view, which the hotel would have absolutely no impact on anyway.

[Raymond Taylor]

Councillors are NOT there to dance to any individual needs or dreams,their there for the community has a whole . If any Councillors took your view they would be no need for Governance in Regional government which set the rules. Acting like a spoilt child does not move your case forward . To solve the problem first find out what stopped it, as I have stated "it was the right idea just the wrong site". If your mind is set on the prize ( the hotel) moved the site to another piece of ground you own ,a change of site would not be a stumbling block of many . If planning premission is the prize which in the future would lead or could open the door to more development thats totally different . What we have here is Politicians answers to Politicians questions and if you can't see that maybe ask the developer "WHY". When this was first muted years back ,it was said then the site was NOT acceptable , so why are they still beating that drum . There's a lot more questions to be answered and its not the Councillors they should be put to . I lived on the same road as the proposed hotel and could not get premission for a dropped curd to get my car off the main A9. So it ain't that Councillors are setting out their stall any different now.

Wait just a minute my friend, acting like a spoilt child. In 1992 this was approved locally by a fine set of local Councillors on the exact same site I am proposing now and it was reversed in Inverness by a Labour Party whip for no good reason. I'm now fighting my corner as last August after seven years of public consultation and mountains of time and energy our local councillors did not like the outcome which was considered the settled view of their own Highland Council Planning officials. So don't give me your holier than thou BS. Also last Tuesday they wanted to go even further, and yes I'm upset, not just for me but the people they are meant to represent. I've said enough is enough and called them out not just for me but the town. What else can I do but call it as I see it.

[nevergiveup]

Maybe now Mr Taylor will put his disappointment behind him and find another site for his hotel and holiday village......think the council decision was correct .......This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and needs to be preserved for future generations and visitors to appreciate.....

[Raymond Taylor]

Maybe now Mr Taylor will put his disappointment behind him and find another site for his hotel and holiday village......think the council decision was correct .......This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and needs to be preserved for future generations and visitors to appreciate.....

Almost what it said in CaSPlan when recommending the site as enhancing the visitor experience and using the under-utilised amenity as a positive for generations of tourists visiting the town.

[Mik.M.]

Outstanding natural beauty? It`s a field full of sheep and what comes out the back of sheep.

[Recycle it]

Do you know what, it must be because I am not from here, but I just cannot get my head round this. What do you think is going to happen to Thurso when Dounreay and Vulcan close ? Who and what is going to employ all these people ? There is going to be a mass exodus from here when that happens. I hope you're not waiting on Holyrood for investment, because it is not going to happen.

I will quote you now " the councillor's job is to act in the best interests of the community" basically what you are saying is, it is not in the best interests of the community to create jobs, it is not in the best interests of the community to try to attract tourists here and not just use this place as a stopping off point for the Orkneys?

Seriously, all this over a view, which the hotel would have absolutely no impact on anyway.

Sorry that you don't get it .ITS NOT THE HOTEL IDEA THATS WRONG ,JUST THE SITE WHERE HE WANTED TO BUILD IT . We are just saying move it across the road and 500 yards farther WEST on to the ground he owns anyway . The view will be little changed from the Hotel and if they put in a roundabout at the junction ,access would be improved .
The closure of Dounreay and Vulcan will have an effect ,but are you saying I should wait if a plan to buy a house or sell now before the bubble bursts. The locals have been here along time and folk come here to see how local folk have impacted the Enviroment over thousands of years. Dounreay gave jobs but at a price, now we have the change our point of focus and look to a new future . If we destroy the landscape by making the same decision with the hotel as we did with Turbines maybe we should be selling return tickets on the Titanic.
We find that locals are having little or no input on decision ,you get the feeling that some folk just don't get it . Caithness has a lot to offer and so have its people ,if only they get the opportunity to bring it to the fore. Let's create jobs that will have a long term benefit ,just maybe having the New Hotel move across the road can show that Smart Thinking can benefit all . The likes of £21M New Nuclear Storage Locker in Wick is an example of the Highland Council giving land away free to get the building in Wick rather than Thurso. I was told that "Thurso comes way down the list on any business dealing with any bodies ,Wickers stand together and push harder whereas Thurso has more outside input which waters down everything, that's why Wick got the Commuity Centre and much more " . As for the Orkneys they have used their leverage well to get what the community needed as has Wick but we are losing out to Inverness and the likes by not getting the direction right . We have hotels laying empty in Thurso ,some due to age ,some to lack of investment . Yes it's cheaper to build new ,but what do we do with the old ones . There's a group of us putting together a Caithness Comunity Trust that could take over such properties for community use . If we don't stand up and speak about things that will impact us all and except that there will be a difference in opinion on some things and that new ideas or slight changes would make more sense in the long term, well we all lose.
Caithness .Org has been a great sounding board on the new hotel and Bill should be commended on how it is run, but the next step shows that good things can happen if you take into account of what impact we can have on others and your community . I thing the smart thing for ST is to move it and that way have the full backing of both groups ,The ones that want a New Hotel and the ones that want to preserve the green belt space. I would be happy to back the move and give the new site my full support . We don't move forward by dismissing the past or destroying the Enviroment the community and visitors alike have come to appreciate, it's loss is all our loss for generations .

[cptdodger]

I am only going to reply to one thing because I have just realised who you are.

"but are you saying I should wait if a plan to buy a house or sell now before the bubble bursts."

Nowhere did I say that, nowhere. I personally would not buy a house here because they take an absolute age to sell. Bubble, what bubble is this you talk about ? If you are saying the houses will lose value when Dounreay and Vulcan go, and the shops follow and nobody invests, and you are all sitting around talking about what you might do to attract tourists, but actually doing nothing. Then yes, you are probably right, houses will lose their value, and that bubble you talk about will be well and truly burst.

Anyway, what do I know, as it was pointed out to me (not in these words I may add) I'm only an incomer, what's it got to do with me !

[The Horseman]

A question......
If Brexit occurs, and Scotland stays in the EU., and Dounreay is funded by Great Britain money, what happens to the de-commissioning?

[sids]

A question......
If Brexit occurs, and Scotland stays in the EU., and Dounreay is funded by Great Britain money, what happens to the de-commissioning?

If it slows down any, it'll be reversing.

[Rheghead]

A question......
If Brexit occurs, and Scotland stays in the EU., and Dounreay is funded by Great Britain money, what happens to the de-commissioning?

It costs about £170m per year to decommission Dounreay the last time I looked. I'm assuming the liability of the cost will be subject to negotiation. Even if the Scottish government has to pay for it, it won't break the bank.

[Bystander1]

For once some sense from the earlier poster. Whats another £170 million when you are already £15 BILLION in the hole. Apologies in advance , only the elite allowed to post about sums on this section !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.