Work on Thurso Premier Inn set to resume next week
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WORK on the multi-million-pound Premier Inn in Thurso is expected to resume next week, according to the company behind the project.
A spokesman for Pentland Properties, which owns the nine-acre former mart site on which the hotel is being built, said the contractor Morrison Construction has been making preparations for a restart for the past two weeks.
He said: "This will ensure that the workforce can adhere to the Covid-19 safety precautions. Additional welfare facilities and sanitiser stations have been installed and the workers will receive induction training to ensure that a one-way system for access operates around the building and that social distancing measures can be maintained.
"We do not yet know what impact these measures will have on productivity and programme but safe working is the priority. We expect Morrison will be actually restarting on June 22 .
“We would expect that a phased restart will be introduced to manage the new working practices."
The move follows the announcement by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that workers will be allowed to return to construction sites which had to close earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Work was halted at the Thurso site as a result but the lockdown restrictions were eased at the end of May.
Ms Sturgeon said workers can return gradually, provided they adhere to the strict safety guidelines and physical distancing measures.
Work on the Premier Inn got under way last July and was expected to take about a year to complete. It is hoped the hotel may be a catalyst for further development of the former mart area beside Ormlie Road.
Whitbread – owner of the Premier Inn chain – received planning permission in November 2018 for a three-storey, 81-bed hotel and car park at the site.
At the time, some Caithness hoteliers and other accommodation providers claimed it would affect trade and result in job losses, while supporters said it would boost tourism and greatly improve an "eyesore" site.
The development is expected to create around 30 jobs.
The Thurso Premier Inn is one of five hotels planned by Whitbread as part of an expansion programme in Scotland. The company says it is looking forward to bringing a new hotel to the town.
"It will be our most northerly hotel in the UK, and we are confident it will trade successfully and offer significant economic benefits to the town when the doors open," the spokesman added.
- Work on Thurso's Premier Inn will resume when safe
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