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Concerns over ‘negative impact’ of Premier Inn plans for Thurso





PLANS to create a four-storey hotel on an eyesore site in Thurso could have “a significant negative impact” on other businesses and the town centre.

That is the view of Trudy Morris, chief executive of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the Premier Inn development at the former mart site in Ormlie Road.

But Mike Potts, who chairs Thurso Community Council, is in favour of the plan as it will provide an amenity for the town and improve an area that has lain derelict for years.

Mr Potts, who stressed he was expressing his own view and not that of the community council, backs the proposal. “It will utilise the site properly, provide further amenities and will tidy up an area which desperately needs it,” he said.

“I know there’s opposition from other hoteliers and accommodation providers but Premier offers a very basic service which is cost effective and would be accessible by rail. The site needs to utilised for something so I would back this development.”

However, Mr Potts is concerned the hotel plan could “compound the existing traffic problem” in that part of Thurso and feels this needs to be addressed by the planners. He would like to see a roundabout being built and proper access to the site.

Ms Morris opposes the plan on behalf of the chamber of commerce. In a letter to Highland Council she says: “While we are generally minded to welcome new developments in Thurso, we feel that the development under consideration would have significant negative impacts on existing local businesses and on Thurso town centre in general.”

She feels no business case has been made to show there is a need for the additional capacity the hotel would bring. It would compete with existing businesses and take business away from present accommodation providers, Ms Morris claims.

She also expresses concern about the impact the proposed development could have on the nearby cinema.

“Only recently revitalised thanks to investment from Merlin Cinemas, the restaurant and bar are likely to suffer significantly as a result of having a competitor placed so close to its location.”

She warns the proposal could take skilled staff away from local hotel businesses, while Premier Inn – a national company – could undercut existing providers. Profits would not be retained within the area, she says.

Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn, has applied for a four-storey, 81-bedroom hotel with landscaping and car parking. If approved, it would be the most northerly Premier Inn in the UK.

The development would represent a multimillion-pound investment. The new hotel is expected to create around 30 new year-round jobs, with “recruitment to be focused in Thurso and the surrounding areas”.

As previously reported, local Highland councillor Karl Rosie described the proposal as “tremendous news” for Thurso.

“I firmly believe this can now be the catalyst for the regeneration of the town centre and the development of the site will provide a range of benefits in terms of visual and direct impact for the local economy,” he said.

The site was previously owned by Tesco, which planned to build a new supermarket there but the project was later scrapped.

In 2015 Tesco sold the land to London and Scottish Investments (LSI). The lack of development attracted criticism from residents and community representatives who described the area as an eyesore.

It has now been purchased from LSI by a private investor who is looking at other uses for the remainder of the site.


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