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So long as they make a positive contribution and bring energy to the site it all good. Dont want things to go flat

Should we 'charge' them...

Yes, I saw that. I got the impression that most councillors want to approve it but as the technical objections had not been addressed by the applicant they felt they couldn't support it today. Also now have time to explain the 'community benefits' (to ICT). Best outcome in the circumstances.

So good we’ve got new members joining just for the batteries.

I'm just shocked we haven't greased the wheels of progress with a good old bung. Sorry, 'developer contribution', as they are known in the building industry when re-zoning or deferring on affordable housing is required. Whatever happened to the playing fields and playpark on Balloan Road... ...certainly wasn't zoned for residential development, but that has all but disappeared under new housing because council owned land can be used for profiteering, apparently.

The recommendation to take pre application advice from the planners was not taken up by ILI/ICTFC. Naive, arrogant or both? Having watched the meeting, I'm not convinced the decision will end up going in favour of the club. When all is said and done, the application is to put an industrial operation on a protected open green site and all the noise mitigation and camouflage in the world isn't going to change that. A decision to allow it regardless isn't a precedent that council will want to set unless there's wider reaching benefit which can also be placed as a condition on future applications of a similar nature. A friendly councillor has managed to kick the can down the road by asking for the deferment, even if he also made it obvious that was primarily to buy time for ILI/ICTFC and not so much for the stated site visit.

Hmmm no, that's not what I said. I am pointing out that it was perfectly reasonable for the council planners to reject this despite the frantic and desperate last minute club lobbying with sound bites about the equivalent of planting one million trees and existential financial threats. I can step back if you prefer an echo chamber where everyone's shouting "council neanderthals, caley directors good guys". To answer your other new points: has anyone even seen credible financials that would backup the claims this will save the future of the club? Like the concerts and free ports? It's not guaranteed to be clean or renewable energy that these batteries will store (and they are toxic as f*ck and hugely energy intensive to mine/make). Again, labouring the point, it maybe a field but it is part of protected green space that is surrounded by residential, office, and leisure - this is an indisputable fact. Lastly, it is not going off on a tangent to question the attempts to find other sites - it was raised by @Stephen Malkmus so I responded. The document is weak IMHO and the planners effectively called it out as such.

It sounds like this was the best possible outcome today. The club and ILI now have the opportunity to thoroughly address the concerns and put the necessary mitigations in place so that the Committee feels minded to approve it. The next meeting is on 12 December but the next one after that is not until February.

Application deferred to allow more information to be provided and a site visit to take place. Helpful.

Sorry, Charles. Can't help you out on any of this. Have you tried emailing the SLO?

My point was that we have to at least consider objectively questioning the bold, yet somewhat amateur (see youtube video), claims from Gardiner and Morrison about this project and how it finances the club. They had their finger prints all over the mismanagement of the concert debacle and were excited puppies about the free port. They have chipped away at their own credibility.

You can't really argue against that statement. I think most of us feel it is a worthwhile and beneficial project for the wider community in general and for the club's finances in particular, but I don't think there's much doubt that it seems to have been a poorly presented proposal.

Following this deferral I'd like to think common sense will prevail and the project will get voted through by the cooncillors after the site visit and more information around mitigations is forthcoming. The relationship, however, between planning committees, council votes and common sense rarely seem to go hand in hand...

So if I'm understanding this right, you're against a major investment for the club, that will provide us with a future for the forseeable future, which also benefits the local communities and the greater Highlands, not just in footballing terms, but with clean and renewable energy because you are wanting a field (that you can't even see from any surrounding road or footpath) to look like...a field...while also going off on a tangent to assume that they breezed over all other potential (and very limited) sites within city limits, just cos someone with links to the club happens to have land ownership?

This is so much better than debating football.

Good post from Stephen. I pretty much agree with that assessment. It strikes me as strange that we have got to this stage and the Club are surprised at the Council planners recommending refusal. I also would have expected that ILI would have had pre-application discussions with the Council which would either have led them to revising plans so that they satisfy the planners concerns, or to prepare a case as to why they disagree with the planners. The objections do, however, seem very minor and one would have thought could easily be overcome with conditions attached to an approval. I'm not sure that Ross Morrison's belated lobbying is going to help or hinder the case. There is no doubting that a technology that makes a significant contribution to meeting net zero targets is to be welcomed and obviously having a steady and significant income stream coming into the Club would be great. But the merits of the development (which are considerable) should be irrelevant with the decision being made solely in compliance with planning policy and regulations. If I were a Councillor on the Planning Committee, I don't think I would take too kindly to have my mail box full of pleas to ignore the advice of the professional planners because of the perceived benefits. It certainly won't help the relationship between the Club and the Planning department. It's a bit like having a goal being ruled offside and arguing with the referee that it should be awarded in spite of it maybe being marginally offside, because it was a good move and deserved a goal. I agree that the planners are probably most concerned about the loss of open space. Again, one can understand that the project only impinges on a tiny proportion of the open space in and around the city. However, if a precedent is set with this, the Council might find themselves under significant pressure to allow other projects on designated open space. For the sake of the Club and all the good community work the Club does, I sincerely hope the project does get passed. If it doesn't, I won't be too surprised. If it doesn't, someone at the club will have some explaining to do.

What a weird game. We looked comfortable for 20 minutes and then the Pars absolutely murdered us for 25 minutes which coincided with all the incidents which earned the goalposts the MoM. A back 3 of Boyes, Devine and Ujdur looks a good setup. Devine had some great challenges and if Ujdur wasn’t so overconfident of being a baller then he would be one. Second half was completely dominated by us but it was if the players had a bet on 0-1 and thought we could keep the ball for the full 45 minutes which nearly worked. We are incredibly shot-shy. The stats show we had 5 shots to their 12, but we had so many touches in their box, it was as if we were trying to emulate Spain from 10 years ago and score the perfect goal. On a wet day it would have been worth a go from 20 yards, but so many times Cammy, Nathan, Spoony or Gilmour decided to check back. Not sure why Ujdur was subbed for Duffy as I’m sure that lost us a bit of solidity and he was booked straight away. Billy was knackered but sub Longstaff never really offered an out ball, although he nearly won it with a late drive which would have given Mehmet no chance if it was a couple of feet lower. Great to see Sir Sean Welsh returning. The passing was sublime at times today and Max Anderson is a player. Great support today

Everyone will just have to hope that these difficulties are not “terminal”.