The owner of an iconic Moray hotel which abandoned its £200,000 expansion plans due to “crippling” business rate rises has put plans for expansion back on the table.
The picturesque Cullen Bay Hotel is known across the globe as the home to the world’s finest Cullen Skink.
In February this year, owner Ian Watson said he faced an £11,000 hike in his business rates – and said that spending plans would have to be cut back.
Now the owner has revealed that a revamp is back on the cards, with plans afoot to make major changes to the hotel.
He said: “We obviously have plans, I have got drawings and that done.
“When the rates went up we had a relook, but we have decided to put them all through planning and await the outcome of the Government talks on what should be happening about these rates.”
The planned changes include an extended function hall, two additional bedrooms and a patio.
Disabled toilets and a disabled ramp will be added, along with a major overhaul of the function bar.
A change was made to business rates later in February, when the Scottish Government announced that the rates for hospitality businesses would be capped at 12.5%.
Mr Watson is looking for the rates to be reduced, adding that even with the cap the rates are still too high.
And he added that if the rates were to be reduced, he would look to invest more money for future projects.
He said: “If it is resolved, we will forge ahead with these plans and we have got further plans in the pipeline.”
He revealed that the next stage in his planned development could see an investment of over £400,000 – but that it is unlikely to go ahead unless the business rates are reduced.
And Mr Watson criticised the uncertainty surrounding the process, with the cap only guaranteed for one year, and he said that the uncertainty had made people reluctant to invest.
He said: “They have capped it for the first year but even then you have got to apply for that.
“They are stifling anybody who wants to get on and improve the area.”
