Lybster hotelier blames rates bill for closure
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A LOCAL hotelier has blamed the Highland Council for his decision to close the business at the end of the month.
Andy Green, who took over the Portland Arms Hotel in Lybster in December, told the John O’Groat Journal yesterday the business will cease trading on March 31.
He said he and his family have been trying to build up the hotel trade over the past three months with some success.
But Mr Green claimed the commercial rates bill of almost £350 a week was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”.
“Our annual bill is £16,100 at the moment but that is going up to £17,995 as from April 1. That figure is too high for a rural hotel like the Portland in the current economic situation. I don’t think anyone could afford to take that on,” he said.
Mr Green, who has been in the catering business for 34 years, argued a more realistic annual rates bill would be between £8000 and £10,000. “That would be acceptable but what we are being asked to pay is unacceptable,” he stated.
The hotelier feels the Highland Council has forced him to close the Portland – a claim denied by the local authority – and thinks the decision will impact on the village.
“We did not want to do this as it will be a loss to the village and the local economy. People stop at the hotel and go round the village and spend some money but if the hotel is not here they will not do that but carry on to Wick or Thurso,” said Mr Green, who runs the business with his wife, Jackie, and daughters, Abigail and Charlotte.
He was aware the family had “a challenge on their hands” when they took over the lease as trade was in decline.
But Mr Green stressed suppliers and others assisted with special deals to try and help the business get back on its feet. The only exception, he stated, was the local authority.
He argued in other parts of the country councils are willing to offer a temporary reduction in rates to help businesses. But he claimed Highland Council officials were unsympathetic and said there was nothing they could do. “They told me that if I had to close the doors then that is what I would have to do,” he said.
Mr Green pointed out Oxford Hotels and Inns still own the hotel and praised the company for its efforts to keep the business going.
“If it was not for them helping out and doing their share we would not be here now. They also know how important it is and know it will affect the local trade,” he added.
A spokeswoman for the Highland Council said yesterday: “Any difficulties experienced by the current tenant are matters for consideration by himself and the property owners, Oxford Hotels and Inns Ltd. The property owners have agreed to pay the council the business rates. The same rules regarding payment of non-domestic rates apply to all ratepayers in Scotland.”
David Irvine, who is the Scottish director for Oxford Hotels and Inns, hopes a new leaseholder can be found to take over the hotel.
“We are marketing the property now with a view to finding a new leaseholder to take over the Portland Arms. We are working very hard to achieve that and are in discussion with interested parties,” he said.
Mr Green, who has his own company called Green’s Caterers, worked in England for many years before returning north a decade ago. He worked at Ackergill Tower and the Waterfront in Wick and spent four years going round schools in Wick and Thurso teaching pupils about healthy eating.
He took over the lease of the Portland from 24-year-old Dani Lee who gave it up after a brief period to concentrate on the Crown Court Hotel in Inverness. The previous tenant of the Lybster hotel was Pietro Matra-Grano who took it over in June 2009.Mr Green, who lives in Papigoe, now intends to concentrate on his business interests in England.
