Hotel boss Donald Macdonald is suing Highland Council in a long-running dispute over a flood scheme at his Inverness home.
Mr Macdonald, executive chairman of Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, says the wrangle has cost him nearly £150,000.
He has also made a complaint to Police Scotland over matters connected to the case.
He claims the council refuses to engage on the issue and that it has since effectively “boycotted” the hotel group.
‘Grief going on for years’
Macdonald Hotels, which include the Drumossie in Inverness and Norwood Hall in Aberdeen, is one of the biggest employers and ratepayers in the Highlands.
Mr Macdonald said: “I didn’t want this flood scheme. But the grief it has given us has been going on for years.”
The council started the flood relief scheme in 2009 near the home of Mr Macdonald and his wife Christine at Ness Side.
As part of the scheme a bund, or earth mound, was to create a barrier to stop water penetration.
However, Mr Macdonald says it is defective.
Following floods, thousands of tons of stones and gravel have accumulated in an area where there was once a pond.
It is claimed the council has been unwilling to clear the build-up.
The couple have lived in the property since 1999 and say problems started only after the flood scheme was installed.
Disputed minutes
When an engineering company was removed from the project, Mr Macdonald said he was told he should pay a new firm and be reimbursed by the council.
He subsequently sacked the company and says he agreed with the council it should pay the bill.
When neither paid the engineering firm, both were sued and the matter was eventually settled out of court.
Mr Macdonald’s complaints to police include a claim that minutes of a meeting, which said he knew the bund would not keep out the water, are false.
He said the disputed minutes were produced in 2021, 10 years after previous minutes were made of the meeting in 2011.
However, he said his lawyer at the time failed to challenge the new minutes.
He said: “I’m not going to let this go. If I do, I’m seen as a liar”.
A police spokesman said: “We received a report relating to matters raised during a civil case.
“The matter is currently being assessed.”
Mr Macdonald says he has tried unsuccessfully to engage with three council chief executives, including current incumbent Derek Brown.
“They can’t face up to this situation. There is something far, far wrong here.”
Iain Gillies is chairman of the Macdonald Charitable Trust which owns part of the land on which the flood scheme was built.
He added: “There must be some reason why the council won’t engage.
Piggy in the middle
“Mr Macdonald was piggy in the middle here to get something done for the council, but they won’t address it now.
“While it’s a lot of money, it’s not about that. It’s the principle.
“Any council acting reasonably would try to resolve the matter.”
The new legal action seeks to recover money Mr Macdonald says he is owed by the council.
“It will have the effect of recovering the money – over £100,000, maybe £150,000 – in outlays.
“On top of that is the non-financial cost, which is bigger in many ways. It’s for all the hassle. I don’t need the money, I’ll give it to charity.
“I was doing them a favour with the flood scheme. It was not something I asked for, but I did it for the greater good.”
Council plans meeting to discuss ‘outstanding matters’
Mr Macdonald also claims his company gets no business from the council.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request showed the authority spent £476,000 on hotels between 2019-2024.
None of it was spent in a Macdonald Group venue.
“We can’t prove the reason, but it looks pretty strange”, he said.
He says the council did not respond to a Data Subject Access Request, which allows an individual to find what personal data an organisation holds about them.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “There is absolutely no basis to suggest the council are engaged in any form of ‘boycott’.
“We are seeking to rearrange a meeting with Mr Macdonald in the near future to discuss outstanding matters.”
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