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I watched the latter half of the "debate". Thanks, Fraz, for posting the link. It is a long time since I've watched a Council debate and I have to say that whilst I was not expecting a high standard of debate, I was appalled at just how awful it was. You get better quality and better informed debate in any pub every day of the week. The application met all the planning requirements and satisfied the Council's professional planners except for the fact that the site occupied a tiny part of designated green space. The club argued that the area of the green space concerned was insignificant and that its loss was more than mitigated for by planting which would have increased both biodiversity and carbon capture. Having said that, it should never have come to this. No doubt our Chairman and CEO will be raging about the injustice of it all, but the fact is, they concocted a plan which involved siting an industrial development on a site designated as green space in an area where there is no other industrial installation. Seemingly, they have done this without seeking pre-application guidance from the Council and arrogantly assumed the plan would be accepted. They also failed to take into account the record the Council has for dreadful planning decisions. When it seemed the application might not be approved, they then launched an ill conceived campaign focussing on things which were completely irrelevant to the planning application. They did this in an aggressive and bullying manner and clearly antagonised a lot of people as a result. If an appeal fails, then the future for our club is grim. And it is our club, the fans' club. It doesn't belong to the Board. Yet they have recklessly staked the future of our club on a poorly managed development proposal which has nothing to do with football. You might have thought they would have adopted a more considered and consultative approach following the problems encountered with the Concert Company idea. Terry Butcher will be a guest of the club on Saturday. When he left us just over 10 years ago, we were sitting 2nd in the Premiership. Who then, would have thought we would be where we are now? What an absolute shambles we are in.

What a sad day this is for ICT supporters. Reading all the responses here and on other social media platforms, it feels like this has really divided our support. Everyone has the right to their own opinions but its really sad to see that anyone who thinks the council has come to the correct decision is somehow not a real supporter of the club. Just remember it was not the council who got the club into this financial situation resulting in an all or nothing planning application. At a time when supporters should be coming together to find a way to salvage the club, we seem to be fighting with each other.

My mind is blown by the response to this news by alleged "fans" seemingly reveling at the imminent demise of the club. Interesting that one "fan" joined the forum about 5 minutes before he posted. Several others new to CTO in recent months who only ever seem to post about the battery farm, having absolutely nothing else to say in connection with the club - all very strange, agenda driven, behaviour. The loss of green space argument in an already massively over developed part of the city is the biggest load of bollox I've heard in my life.

Personally would much rather we gave our own youth players a chance. Bray and Thompson look good enough to have featured much more this year which would have helped them in future seasons. I may be wrong but I think Cameron Harper has played every league game this season and has been excellent in my opinion.

I was just passing time while waiting for my wife at the dentist today but some of us might be needed Here is what I have and think it's up to date if not let me know,

The first financial cut back the club needs to make is Scot Gardiner. He is surplus to requirements and brought nothing but trouble to the club.

THATS WHERE I GO SLEDGING DAMNIT!

Should fence it off and charge folks entry to zip their sledges round mounds of dug *****

I am a fan and also think it was probably the right decision. Whilst the green space is what ultimately the planning process was concerned with the many 'unknowns' around safety etc are likely to have played a big part in voting intentions. Any repercussions from this vote are the fault of our club and the way they have conducted their business. As much as the process highlighted that the Highland Council in general are fairly incompetent they were given a decision to make with so many question marks and ambiguity. How many of those up in arms and slamming the decision on social media actually live in what would be an evacuation zone where potential houses would lose value/desirability?

Unfortunately this is the second non-football money making project that has been floated as a panacea, with no potential pitfalls initially flagged up…. until they suddenly emerged from left field. There was no indication that the Concert Company could encounter any difficulties…. until it went bust at great cost to the club’s local reputation. And now there’s the Battery Farm that suddenly ran into planning difficulties and we are where we are now. One of my concerns is that very little was revealed about the BF until the club meeting held the other week in response to the sudden public emergence of planning issues. Now that we know what the planning issues were - and irrespective of anyone’s viewpoint on them - was it not clear from the start that this was a project that could attract planning concerns, so at least came with some uncertainties? And if so why were we told so little about this project until a very late stage? So now… around two years on from the birth of the Concert Company… the club’s financial security continues to proceed ever deeper into a black hole.

The chairman who quite clearly has a bone to pick with us has thrown a jab at the emails we sent. Saying they were intimidating. Whereas the two following councillors to speak said they weren't intimidating at all. Really sounds like he is a holier than thou figure. Who doesn't like losing a vote. And doesn't like being challenged on it

I thought he had been out on loan to County!

As was the massive area at Holm Mills, now circumscribed by the West Link…. and where hundreds of houses are now being built. It would have been an ideal site for a public park.

HSE, SEPA etc. would all regulate the site through their own regimes. The BESS would have to comply with the standards below. The officer presenting the application stated that he could attach a condition requiring a fire response plan to be submitted. The idea that BESS aren't subject to regulation and controls is fiction.

I think that the club’s prospects of acceptance were on a dicky wicket once safety issues came into the equation. It’s easy to argue between the loss of 2% of a large green area by taking the Inner Moray Firth plan as the letter of the law on the one hand, and on the other a green initiative that will yield £125K per annum for the Council and hugely help one of Inverness’s highest profile organisations. However Elfin Safety seems to trump everything. Also, it’s easy for people in our position to highlight the benefit to the club but the ordinary person on the street or councillor in the chamber often has no partisan interest and could validly argue (Devil’s Advocate kite alert!) that the self-inflicted financial failings of a football club, notwithstanding its good PR etc for Inverness, cannot be taken into consideration in the course of deciding a planning application.

Not particularly surprising. There was a debacle in Edinburgh recently where their Council decided to toss a coin to determine whether the applicant for a housing development should pay £1m or £3m to the Council.

Please see the statement issued this afternoon by the ICT Supporters Trust following today's decision by The Highland Council: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/the-highland-councils-rejection-of-the-battery-park-planning-application

Absolute scaremongering nonsense. Would you be saying the same if they lived near a petrol station?

Must be aye. Being sat with the Montroses and the Kelties who have notoriously small fanbases must do wonders for the city center pubs who've previously catered for the multiple hundreds following the Dundonians and the Particks. Call me a looney all you want, but the city needs a big name side, and Clach or a Caley side following in the footsteps of Queen of the South aren't filling those boots

This idea that everyone should support the club at all costs is the kind of knuckle dragging mentality mostly exhibited by fans of the OF.

Are you actually a fan? As I can’t understand any fan of our football club who values 2 percent of a patch of grass over £3.4 Million for the club. Given you’re such a cheerleader for the council im sure you also support those same councillors approving another hotel in place of the ironworks and spending money on a bridge to nowhere along the River Ness

I think the right decision was made, but it saddens me that it carries with it such dire consequences for ICTFC. We need to keep in mind that it is not the Highland Council that put ICTFC into the financial position it finds itself, and it would be a dereliction of duty for the planning to have been passed on that basis. It's time that our CEO, Chairman and Board showed some accountability instead of resorting to the victim mentality we've been subjected to from them the last few years. They chose to continue spending beyond the clubs means to chase promotion back the Premier League, have failed to achieve that, and have pinned our future on a series of failed initiatives. Enough is enough.

Gosh that's a morning we will never get back! The standard of debate was awful. Will a list of who voted each way be published?

We can appeal to the Scottish government and we might well have a case. That will take a lot longer and cost money though. In the short run, I think we are highly likely to go into administration. We make massive losses every year that are written off by directors. Reading between the lines, it's obvious that these benefactors have said they won't continue doing that so we've pinned our hopes on this project, which was risky due to the potential rejection by the council. One thing that I'm a bit puzzled about is that this money was earmarked for other projects to make the club sustainable - I'm not sure if it was ever made clear what these projects are and why they are so dependent on the battery farm. Do we just need a revenue source? Is the battery farm somehow linked to the other projects? Are we confident in our useless board and adminisrators to invest millions of pounds in a sustainable way?

Duncan Macpherson attended the meeting and was most likely in favour. He was about to point out how much of a hypocrite Oldham was. But then got shut down as apparently you can't speak your mind as an elected official. But lying and saying you've been intimidated by people supporting a battery farm is perfectly fine. This is what we are up against folks. Cognitive dissonance

Fight fight breaking out. Councillor MacPherson ordered to sit down. Its like a scene from the Big Brother House

Has anyone explained why the loss of 2 percent of green space is so sacrosanct? Given their own ecology officer said it would result in a net biodiversity gain. From the pictures I see of the site it's just a patch of overgrown grass that people walk through. But apparently that's worth more than 3.4 million?

Some may disagree but other than deals for ridgers or cammy, devine, harper then its keeping the youngsters we have out on loan. Lots of rebuilding to do

I’ll just play in goals. No running about

Needs more defenders.

Dougal seems to be carrying a long term grievance

Hi everyone, I attended my first Caley game last weekend on a complete whim as I was visiting close to the area. My hometown is Blackpool and I support Blackpool (I loved seeing Nathan Shaw score that third goal as a product of our academy) but as life has taken me around a bit I now live in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, not far from Leeds. I also follow Pontefract Collieries home and away because of this. 8th tier of English football. I wanted to join the site to firstly say I really enjoyed the hospitality of your club. We spoke to a few locals around the city before and after the game and they were very welcoming us of foreigners. Secondly, the football was brilliant. Now, I know I may come in to some criticism for this but it was like watching lower league English football but with an immaculate pitch. However that is EXACTLY what I want to see in a football match. Lastly, and my only criticism of your wonderful club would be the home atmosphere. I expected booming when the third goal went in last week but it fell flat. Even at 2-0 up it was very quiet. I’d love you to create more of an atmosphere. Get that drum banging and get singing guys!! It’ll make a massive difference to your results! I’ll be forever keeping my eye out for your results now. Hope you manage to string a few wins together and get up the table. Come on Caley. Cheers

Please see the statement issued this afternoon by the ICT Supporters Trust following today's decision by The Highland Council: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/the-highland-councils-rejection-of-the-battery-park-planning-application

Being overdeveloped is even more reason to protect the green space, is it not?

How do you know they were lying or how they felt when reading the messages they received? They mentioned the emails because they were correspondence specific to this planning application. Macpherson was trying to break into some warped whataboutery mode and for his own good was put back in his box.

Yet lying about being intimidated and threats similar to what MP’s faced is okay to say. Despite 5 other councillors stating they’ve received the same emails and they weren’t intimidating at all. Why wasn’t that ruled out of order? What relevance does that have to the application?

Sounds daft but can it be reappealed on grounds of incompetence and not having done their job? Just the grounds of that one balloon rejecting it cos "Kids like sledging there" would imply themselves (and quite possibly others) haven't *actually* taken it into account, as the area in question is by no means suitable for sledging, mainly due to the trees and shrubs, and more importantly A GREAT SODDING WAREHOUSE.

I don't get why the locals using is as a dog walking site is so important. Were they doing that when it was a golf course too? Where did they go then? Why can they not go back there?

Natural Loch. That must get the carbon footprint down.

Have to remember these aren't the most competent chimps in the zoo. After all, they happily burnt stacks on an "art installation" and completely changed how the river looks...

Can't wait to see the turnout in 5 years time when they discuss turning it into a housing estate

Going to penalties at this rate

And a flux capacitor

Never mind this pish we should be investing in fusion power and warp drive!

Absolutely agree with Robert - the crucial bit for me is 'no worse than 8th'. I would not fancy our chances in a relegation playoff against (most likely) an Accies side with their tails up and something to prove, whilst we have a team with a large number of loanees ready to depart back to their parent clubs. I'm not decrying their effort and commitment but when it comes to the crunch they wouldn't be as likely to put everything on the line and give 110% in that situation. We should, however, have enough quality in our squad to keep us out of that position and hopefully they'll click together sooner rather than later to climb clear of that dreaded 9th place.

Who do we have signed up for next season? The loans will all depart and I know we had a lot of players out of contract this summer, but some of the new signings got two year contracts, as did Billy Mckay when he signed on again. Anyone know who we have got signed for next season?

We must do no worse than 8th. 5th, 6th or 7th bring a few more pounds in. We should be aiming for 4th until it is impossible to get there.

I'm onboard with this. Saturday is obviously a massive opportunity to jump up the table but with the home form being so abject and two tough away fixtures right after, I would settle for going into April with the points gap to 4th/5th being the same as today. That should make the run in interesting....... if this team can (finally) peak at the right time.

Tbf, we probably need more defenders