Bogus objections to hotel plans sent in apparent sabotage attempt

Bogus and fraudulent objections have been sent to Orkney Islands Council in an attempt to derail plans for a 92-bed hotel in the centre of Kirkwall.

Following a story published in The Orcadian this week, it has emerged that an objection purported to be sent from the former proprietor of the Kirkwall Hotel is false.

That objection and another claiming to be from the owner of the Stromness Hotel, Na’ím Anís Paymán, has now been removed from Orkney Islands Council’s planning portal, where the documents were publicly available.

In December, Stephen Kemp, managing director of Orkney Builders (Contractors) Ltd, submitted plans to create a hotel on the site of the former Jewson’s yard.

The ambitious plans — if approved by council planners — could see a four-storey hotel and eight flats built on the site on Junction Road.

In this week’s newspaper, The Orcadian published a story homing in on objections to the major development in the heart of Kirkwall, which includes an objection from the Ayre Hotel, which remains on the planning portal website.

The Kirkwall Hotel has made it clear that they did not and have not objected to Mr Kemp’s plans, and would like to distance themselves from the spurious objection.

The Orcadian has approached both Orkney Islands Council and Mr Kemp for comment.

More details on the development can be found here.