Earlier this week, The Press and Journal reported the eye-watering fee quoted to one Highland man to have a small garden tool delivered to Inverness.
The fee, in excess of £200 million, has brought a bit humour.
While many accept that it is probably just a technical error, it has brought the unfair surcharges added on for shoppers in the north back into the spotlight.
In our earlier report, we mentioned that for the £200,001,997 fee, Jim Oliver could have purchased the world’s most expensive footballer Neymar – and still have change left over.
Well, here are five other ways you could better spend your £200m.
1 – Renovate Inverness Castle 11 times over
Inverness Castle is currently undergoing a massive renovation into a major tourist attraction.
Having previously served as the city’s court, the works currently being undertaken will turn the prominent landmark into a cultural centrepiece for the Highlands.
The Scottish Government has granted £15m of funding, with the UK Government also pledging £3m.
You could renovate the castle 11 times over for the same price Mr Oliver was quoted for his mother-in-law’s hand chainsaw.
2 – 133 million daily copies of the Press and Journal
Who doesn’t love value?
For just £1.50 each day, you can pick up the latest local stories and in-depth analysis inside your Press and Journal.
And what could be better than one bumper edition of news?
Well, 133 million to be precise.
Yes, for your £200m you could purchase 133 million copies of Scotland’s oldest daily newspaper.
A bargain if you ask me.
3 – Deliver new ferries to serve island and remote communities
It has long been a sticking point, with calls for investment into the ferry fleet serving communities up and down the west coast of Scotland.
However, for your £200m, rather than pay the delivery surcharge, you could instead direct your funds to covering the full cost of the construction of two new ships ordered by CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd).
Seven years on from their order date, the ships under construction in Port Glasgow are yet to sail to their final destinations.
At last estimate, the cost of the project has risen from an initial fixed price of £97 million to between £192.8m and £196.8m.
If you were feeling generous, you could pay off the government’s bill and have over £3m left to play with.
4 – 45 Ulvas
Ulva is an incredibly beautiful island off Mull, steeped in history with a beautiful rugged landscape.
The island was taken over by the local community in 2018 after funding to the tune of £4.5 million was secured.
In the 1800s it was a thriving community of more than 600 residents but nowadays, the number of people living on the island is just a fraction of what it once was.
For your £200m, you could purchase the island 45 times over.
5 – Downing Street renovations 1,777 times
Renovating number 11 Downing Street has been highly scrutinised.
Each Prime Minister is delivered an annual grant of £30,000 to renovate their living quarters.
However, work at number 11 is believed to have stretched to beyond £112,000 after sums of money were granted by Tory supporter Lord Brownlow.
The gathering of the fees has been subject to much criticism and even a probe by the electoral commission.
However, if you were feeling kind enough and wished for Mr Johnson to have a comfortable living space, you could renovate his flat – and then do it again 1,776 times more.
