DAVID Anderson, CEO of Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire, accuses me of being ''factually incorrect'' in my assertions about Loch Lomond Shores, but merely displays a talent for disingenuous spin common among quango executives (Letters, October 7).
He deliberately isolates the cost of building Drumkinnon Tower from the tens of millions of pounds of public money consumed by this complex overall. He also tells us that the retail crescent was funded by the private sector but fails to reveal that the site was sold to the developer for a paltry (pounds) 1m when most, if not all, of the costly infrastructure was in place. This amounted to a massive subsidy at public expense.
Mr Anderson is also being less than accurate about the hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid non-domestic rates. The Enterprise Company was ''let off the hook'' by West Dunbartonshire councillors for around (pounds) 350,000 for its first year of operation, and in the following year for more than (pounds) 200,000 when the spurious claim was made that the tower was being used predominantly for educational charity purposes, rather than a visitor centre bristling with loss-making commercial activities. Indeed, school children were even charged for their visits right down to the food they consumed. Not much charity there.
Currently, two questions need answering.
Is this Enterprise Company a fit and proper organisation to be advising fledgling businesses how to succeed when they lost almost (pounds) 1m in their own first year of business at Drumkinnon Tower?
How much is Merlin Entertainments paying to lease Drumkinnon Tower and does it reflect the true market value of the capital spent, or is it being charged a token sum for providing face-saving services to the Enterprise Company?
A Macmillan,
Meikle Boturich, nr Balloch.
Facts about Loch Lomond Shores
DAVID Anderson, CEO of Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire, accuses me of being ''factually incorrect'' in my assertions about Loch Lomond Shores, but merely displays a talent for disingenuous spin common among quango executives (Letters, October 7).
He deliberately isolates the cost of building Drumkinnon Tower from the tens of millions of pounds of public money consumed by this complex overall. He also tells us that the retail crescent was funded by the private sector but fails to reveal that the site was sold to the developer for a paltry (pounds) 1m when most, if not all, of the costly infrastructure was in place. This amounted to a massive subsidy at public expense.
Mr Anderson is also being less than accurate about the hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid non-domestic rates. The Enterprise Company was ''let off the hook'' by West Dunbartonshire councillors for around (pounds) 350,000 for its first year of operation, and in the following year for more than (pounds) 200,000 when the spurious claim was made that the tower was being used predominantly for educational charity purposes, rather than a visitor centre bristling with loss-making commercial activities. Indeed, school children were even charged for their visits right down to the food they consumed. Not much charity there.
Currently, two questions need answering.
Is this Enterprise Company a fit and proper organisation to be advising fledgling businesses how to succeed when they lost almost (pounds) 1m in their own first year of business at Drumkinnon Tower?
How much is Merlin Entertainments paying to lease Drumkinnon Tower and does it reflect the true market value of the capital spent, or is it being charged a token sum for providing face-saving services to the Enterprise Company?
A Macmillan,
Meikle Boturich, nr Balloch.
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