At last...work starts to revamp John O’Groats

BULLDOZERS yesterday moved in to start the long-awaited transformation of John O’Groats.

Much of the derelict John O’Groats House Hotel is being levelled to make way for a new luxury self-catering development. Together with 24 detached lodges on adjoining land, the £6 million venture is due to open next summer in a joint project between upmarket holiday company Natural Retreats and site owners Heritage Great Britain.

Development agencies believe the regeneration of the area will spark a rolling programme of improvements that will finally realise the income-generating potential of the popular tourist haunt.

Local businesses, meanwhile, welcome the start of groundwork after a series of previous schemes stalled through a lack of funding.

Muir of Ord-based Anderson Building and Construction Ltd landed the demolition contract.

After its team is finished, all that will remain of the hotel will be the original frontage, including its feature towers and crow’s step gable ends.

The site is to be turned into self-catering apartments while the company also intends landscaping the ground to the front, which witnesses the start and finish of countless charity marathons to and from Land’s End.

Alan Leech, chief executive of Heritage GB, claims the redevelopment marks the start of a new era for John O’Groats.

He said: “We believe this part of the world deserves a lot more sophisticated tourism.

“It has unique tourism brands, sites and experiences but to fully realise the benefits from all of those you need development of this kind.

“It will put in high-quality accommodation which will not only bring people into the area but keep them there for longer.”

Mr Leech admits that the current look of the area is very unappealing for the stream of marathoneers and other visitors to Groats.

“It must be something of a major letdown for them,” he said. “To address that, we intend to create a new start and finish area that will reward and inspire people that make this epic journey with a much-better sense of arrival or departure.”

Matt Spence, chief executive officer of Natural Retreats, confirmed it is planning to fully open next summer.

He said the area fits well with the Manchester-based company’s existing portfolio of seven upmarket complexes in the UK and Ireland.

“With its stunning headlands and place in history, John O’Groats is a perfect location for us.”

The development has been backed by a £1.8m grant from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

HIE chief executive Alex Paterson was yesterday present to join in a ceremonial turf-cutting ceremony.

He said the redevelopment of the hotel site marks the launch of HIE’s masterplan to realise the untapped tourism value of Groats.

“It’s a great day just to be at this point where we’re seeing something start on the ground that will bring the hotel site back to life,” he stated.

“We’re delighted to see this iconic development and I’m sure it will contribute towards the tourism product in the North on Scotland.

“It’s also a critical part of the redevelopment of the Caithness economy.”

Local people were yesterday keen to welcome the end of the series of abortive schemes to redevelop the hotel.

“Finally, something is happening,” said David Body, who runs John O’Groats Pottery and was among the local people who attended a presentation from Natural Retreats.

“Anything that raises the standard of accommodation and can extend the tourist season has got to be good.”

He added: “Groats has tended to get a bad press but that is basically down to the derelict state of the hotel.”

Village sub-postmistress Fiona Harper said local reaction to the scheme is very upbeat.

“We have become a bit cynical after all the false starts there have been,” she explained. “There’s been so much hype in the past with nothing to back it up so it’s great to see something happening on the ground.”

John Green, who chairs Dunnet and Canisbay Community Council, said: “It’s taken a long time, given that it’s been something like 17 years that the building was last used as an hotel.

“It’s very good news to see some activity and we’re looking forward to seeing it being properly renovated.”