Robert

The Chairman was clear at the Supporters Trust Meeting that there is no way the club can benefit from the Freeport. It’s not a timing issue or anything like that, it is simply that a business like the club is not the sort of business that can benefit from the Freeport scheme and the tax breaks that gives.

That one is a total dead end for us.

The club has issued a statement on today’s planning deferral. Perhaps trying to build bridges after the recent lobbying:

https://ictfc.com/club-statement-18/

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. 

I know he only played in our youth set up but Stuart Armstrong for Scotland on Tuesday. 

4 hours ago, ictchris said:

I spoke to someone at the game on Saturday who knows about council planning applications in general, no special knowledge of this one specifically, and their opinion was that this will 100% be rejected.  It fails it on noise grounds alone due to being too close to houses.

The club’s argument is that the noise can be mitigated. This is an extract from the e-mail they sent to Councillors which was attached to the e-mail to season ticket holders:

Paragraph 8.38 confirms that our revised noise assessment demonstrated that mitigation measures would reduce noise impacts “to within acceptable levels” and additional mitigation was suggested that could reduce these levels further. While Environmental Health has some questions about the report, any noise impacts can be controlled, through conditions on operating procedures, restrictions, and acoustic barriers. The project can be held to strict noise levels via these conditions ensuring that it does not create a noise nuisance for nearby office buildings in the Business Park, or the wider area. You can vote on Wednesday to approve this application subject to these conditions on noise and the Council will retain control through these conditions.

16 minutes ago, DWH said:

it's good to see results improving. was at the match and clearly we were very lucky to be one to the good at half time. For the first 20 minutes or so of the second half we played some great football and all but went 2 up. We then seemed to just sit back (really don't know why) and invited Dunfermline to score and at the end were lucky not to lose. 

Noticeable even though we are undefeated under Duncan, our performances seem to drop off the longer the match goes on. We need to fix that quick.

We seem to be doing that when ahead, as we did that against both Airdrie and Ayr in our recent home wins, and our later substitutions have generally been to strengthen us defensively.

I assume it is deliberate as we try to build our points total, but we are good enough to continue to play in the manner that has got us in from in games rather than making us all very nervous as we get to the end of games. 

Text of e-mail received from the Chairman. The link in red takes you to the text of an e-mail he has sent to Councillors:

Dear Caley Thistle supporter, 

As you may have read or heard ICTFC has lodged a planning application for a BESS Development (Battery Electrical Storage system) at the back of Fairways Business Park in Inverness.

The development has been helped massively by our main sponsor ILI with two huge goals in mind

Firstly to take a huge step forward in helping Scotland, and the Highlands in particular, to getting to NET Zero CO2 emissions

Secondly this development can be hugely beneficial to our club with the funds allowing us a firm, stable financial foundation for years to come.

It is imperative that Scotland gets to a net zero CO2 footing. Highland Council along with the Scottish Gov declared a climate Emergency in 2019 ! 

It is also imperative that ICTFC derive funding from outwith football as we simply don’t make enough in the Championship to keep a full time squad and everything that goes with it. We don’t have a rich owner, there is only all of us together, so we need help. This development can most certainly help, but last week the planning department of Highland Council recommended that our application should be refused when it comes before the Council Planning Committee this Wednesday. This was devastating news.

WE need to persuade, by lobbying the local councillors, that this recommendation should be overturned and the application should be approved at the meeting which is taking place this Wednesday and to that end I am asking all of you, if you agree with what I have said, to contact your local councillor with your support for the application and the club and also with the knowledge that it contributes massively to get to the Net Zero goal.

I have attached a copy of an email I've sent out to all Highland Councillors which will give you a fuller picture.

I hope this helps explain matters more fully, but in summary our BESS development on 1.7 hectares of Fairways……….

WILL SAVE , ANNUALLY, 20,000 TONNES OF CO2.

THE EQUIVALENT OF PLANTING 1,000,000 TREES (YOU CANT FIT 1,000,000 TREES ONTO 1.7 HECTARES) !

TAKES POWER FROM TURBINES WHEN THERE IS EXCESS IN THE SYSTEM ALLOWING THEM TO CARRY ON TURNING WHEN BEFORE THEY WERE TURNED OFF

WHEN THE TURBINES STOP THE BATTERIES RELEASE POWER ENOUGH TO POWER EVERY HOUSE IN THE HIGHLANDS FOR TWO HOURS !

NEGATES THE NEED TO TURN ON GAS POWERED GENERATORS . REDUCES FOSSIL FUEL RELIANCE AND USAGE

CAN AND WILL SECURE THE FUTURE OF ICTFC AND ICTFC COMMUNITY TRUST AND ALLOW US TO FLOURISH AND PROSPER  

Admittedly , the site will use 1.7 hectares of green space but this is only 2% of the 85 hectares which are left untouched and as I say, is the equivalent of 1m trees being planted by ICTFC. 

The Highlands needs this. Scotland needs this and everyone associated with ICTFC needs this.

If you can do anything to help us then please do. Now is the time when we need you the most.

Kind regards,

Ross

J.Ross Morrison

Chairman

ICTFC

David Cameron owns Fairways so presumably the land this is planned to be on. He’s also reported to be assisting the club financially in his role as Director of the club.

Is he effectively passing the benefit of the project to the club through the SPV?

Still more questions than answers for me but, as I’ve said above, it could be the salvation of the club. 

Noted today were George Oakley for Morton, Nathan Austin for East Fife, Harry Nicolson for Clach and Tobi Sho-Silva for Maidenhead. 

Full time 1-1.

Do we see that as two points dropped after leading, or a point gained given how many times Dunfermline hit the woodwork?

We are up to 7th, but it could have been 5th. Big Dunc’s unbeaten run now 6 games. 

Dunfermline equalise in the 87th minute.

A few minutes earlier they had hit the post again, whilst Welsh had replaced Wotherspoon.

Presumably we were looking to “park the bus” and hold our lead?

Duffy and Longstaff on for Ujdur and Mckay.

Duffy booked shortly after coming on. 

Half time 0-1.

Gilmour and Harper both booked in stoppage time. 

Dunfermline 0-1 ICT. A Danny Devine shot inside the box in 43 minutes, with Ujdur credited with the assist.

From the BBC app Dunfermline have hit the woodwork three times. 

Good to see Welsh back in the squad. 

I understand why many have issues with Gardiner and Morrison, and I respect those views. I have heard many comments about Gardiner in particular but I don’t know either personally.

I also don’t understand how we stand to gain financially from the Battery Farm proposal. The Chairman mentioned an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) at the meeting on Saturday which the club is clearly involved in along with the main sponsors.

I hope the Planning Application is approved, if not on Wednesday then subsequently either through an appeal process or by amending the plan to overcome the concerns raised by the Council Officials.

The club have clearly been working hard on this behind the scenes to cement its future, and it could yet be the moment we all look back on as being the making of the club. Equally it could also be another nail in our coffin.

Big times off the field but hopefully it doesn’t cause any distractions to the players.

He’s not out on loan. He played the second half at Nairn but I assume he’s injured, although to my knowledge that has never been mentioned. 

I should have been going to the game today but circumstances intervened.

We would probably have beaten them at home had we not had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside that would have put us two up.

It will be a tough challenge but we have an opportunity to move up the league to fifth if we can win.

Let’s hope we silence the home fans and bring three points back up the road. It will be the BBC Sport app for me plus this site. 

The Courier article:

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/caley-thistle-ceo-we-are-on-the-cusp-of-securing-our-long-333280/

HT 0-1

FT 1-2

ICT Billy Mckay

Pars McCann

Crowd 5135

50 minutes ago, robbo1985 said:

Sounds like it's absolutely crucial for the long-term future of the club in current form..... 

it is. The Chairman didn’t say that in as many words at the meeting on Saturday but it was clear that the project would secure the club’s future whilst without it, as Doofers Dad has said, we will at best be in our current position struggling to maintain financial sustainability.

The Chairman said it would be helpful if anyone felt able to lobby Councillors on the Planning Committee.

I don’t claim to understand the “ins and outs” of the project and how the club would stand to benefit to the tune of a seven figure sum, but it is potentially a key moment in the club’s history. 

Scott Brown being mentioned quite a bit.

But he was for ours too so it is probably well wide of the mark. 

1 hour ago, IBM said:

You might want to go with your first thought and name the hotel next to the caravans.

Is it the one that is still there? I can’t recall it’s name.

A hat trick for Aaron Nicolson in the North of Scotland Cup Final, helping Nairn beat Ross County 5-4 after extra time. 

Nairn won the final 5-4 after extra time, with it being 3-3 at the end of normal time.

Aaron Nicolson scored Nairn’s first three goals.