glasshouse plans

[Claadehol]

It's a pity after all the work that has already gone into this project, that the plans have now been dropped. Apparently the owner wants over twice the valuation price for the buildings.

 

How nice to see a local businessman being so considerate towards local community projects. I hope there is a local reaction to this, time to buy more goods online I think. 

[Equality Street]

Seems he wants twice the asking price and is currently using it as a store. Shame it was was sold in the first place really. As an incomer, you'd have thought he'd be keen to endear himself to the local community, but maybe he has his reasons.  Guess it all comes down to £££ in the end. 

[islesat]

We are incensed by what has happened. We urge everyone to follow our lead.

 

This is what my wife & I have emailed to Ghufar Razaq, the owner of the Tingwall glasshouse buildings:

 

Dear Mr Razaq,

 

As reported on Shetlink today, my wife and I are extremely upset to learn that as owner of the Tingwall glasshouse building you are seeking more than twice as much as Shetland’s only commercial valuer has said the building is worth - and because of this the community growing venture has been forced to drop the redevelopment.

 

In light of your apparent 'greediness' that has stopped this venture in its tracks, my wife and I will make a point, along with our friends and neighbours, of avoiding your business in the future.

 

Paul & Diane Meyer

(IsleSat)

[paulb]

does he have planning for change of use and his he paying the correct rates a big building like that would cost a lot in rates. how is his public liability insurance.

 

what his asking for them. if he is being overly greedy then shetland folk have the right to shop anywhere they want

[JustMe]

Are people being too hasty.  What if the valuation was wrong?.  This has been known to happen and I for one would certainly like to hear Ghufar giving his views before advocating a boycott of his business.  Certainly I seem to remember him saying he was in favour of the glasshouse plan some time ago.   Perhaps the place is worth less as a community greenhouse than a store.  Perhaps he simply wants to get back what it has cost him. 

[Auld Mossyface]

I agree that I have the right to shop anywhere I want & so will continue to shop at the Bargain Centre.  I like the stuff they sell, I like the prices they charge & I like the friendly helpful service.

[john smith]

On the odd occasion I buy furniture locally ,the Bargain Centre is the cheapest. If the greenhouses belonged to any of our other local business people it wouldn't be any cheaper.

[ll]

Probably would be best for community allotments like they have in Sandwick to be offered around Shetland where demand exists instead of a super greenhouse that will require a lengthy commute.

 

The ridiculous costs for this project were beyond a joke.

 

Also wonder how many people with glasshouses and polytunnels fork out over £20k on expert consultants to see if their growing structure is viable? 

 

I did hear of a person who just planted seeds inside without any consultancy taking place, surely this must be wrong!

[Carlos]

Presumably the valuation mentioned is the cost of building the equivalent facility? So the group could just buy land somewhere else, and build new to get the completed standard for the costs they have budgeted for?

[Colin]

Good to see a little sanity entering this discussion at last.

 

Seems a pity that the concepts and benefits of 'private ownership' appear to have been overlooked in previous posts.  Is this because it was a 'community' project?

 

Ghufar OWNS the property under discussion and, if he wants to sell it, he is fully entitled to set the price. 

He doesn't have to sell it at anybody else's price and, despite protests, is fully entitled to apply his own valuation. 

It doesn't matter one little bit what someone else says it's worth..  If you don't like his personal valuation then, tough, look somewhere else.

 

Letters to Ghufar from a company (Islesat) accusing him of 'greediness' (?) and threatening to undermine his business smacks of 'spitting the dummy'.

I wonder how many friends/family members/customers/associates of Ghufars will stop spending with them as a gesture of support?

 

PaulB.  What the hell have your points got to do with the price of bread?  Nothing, apart from a little 'spite' and the implied threat of getting 'officials' involved it would seem.  Not your 'fight' so, lighten up a bit.

[Kavi Ugl]

It's a great idea but I couldn't believe some of the financial figures in this project, and that doesn't involve the purchase cost!.

 

I wonder if they would be better starting from scratch and with a whole new development?.  I'm sure in this day and age there would be outside funding from somewhere.

 

Yon place at Tingwall looks shabby at best!.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Kavi Ugl

[paulb]

Good to see a little sanity entering this discussion at last.

 

Seems a pity that the concepts and benefits of 'private ownership' appear to have been overlooked in previous posts.  Is this because it was a 'community' project?

 

Ghufar OWNS the property under discussion and, if he wants to sell it, he is fully entitled to set the price. 

He doesn't have to sell it at anybody else's price and, despite protests, is fully entitled to apply his own valuation. 

It doesn't matter one little bit what someone else says it's worth..  If you don't like his personal valuation then, tough, look somewhere else.

 

Letters to Ghufar from a company (Islesat) accusing him of 'greediness' (?) and threatening to undermine his business smacks of 'spitting the dummy'.

I wonder how many friends/family members/customers/associates of Ghufars will stop spending with them as a gesture of support?

 

PaulB.  What the hell have your points got to do with the price of bread?  Nothing, apart from a little 'spite' and the implied threat of getting 'officials' involved it would seem.  Not your 'fight' so, lighten up a bit.

whibble

[Colin]

"whibble"  ?

[MuckleJoannie]

I'm beginning to think that the Tingwall greenhouses are the biggest white elephant in Shetland. They weren't financially viable when they were first built and there seems to be no possibility of making them work in community ownership.

[ghufar]

For clarity you wanted a response and here it is.

 

Just because I own the greenhouses doesn't mean it has ANYTHING to do with my shop business which BTW has supported this community for over 40 years and pumped back into the local economy many millions in salaries and services as well as assisting many local charities with both funds and raffle prizes. Threats of disrupting the business due to a separate personal issue can only lead to a domino effect.

 

Islesat (as owners of a local business) should realise that I wouldn't stop using their business if he asked more for his house than I felt it was worth because I wanted to use it for a "community project". Have some sense people - this letter just reeks of cutting off your noses to spite your face.

 

I originally purchased the greenhouse which had not been used for many years due to lack of commercial viabilty with the hope of building eco-friendly housing or even having the option of rebuilding a commercial building to house my furniture and floorcoverings departments if I wanted. David Adamsons have clearly stated that they had no other property to compare the value to and have come back with a figure a third of what I believe I can achieve if I continue down one of my original desired routes in the future. However as I was approached with a community project I was more than willing to just take what it has almost cost me taking into account interest, original price and other costs over the last 5 years. This is not as one commentator states "twice the asking price" and trust him to make it clear that despite having made this my home for over 45 years I'm "an incomer" so that's another reason for my "apparent greed".

 

As Kavi says the figures of the project without even the purchase price were mind blowing and unfortunately I fear there could have been a swimming pools/mareel saga had it gone ahead anyway. Having said all this I can say that I am saddened that we could not reach a satisfactory resolution.

 

Hope that some of you can now see things from both sides of the fence...