Council among victims of "disruptive" Berwickshire farm business

EXCLUSIVE by OUR AGRICULTURAL EDITOR

It was hailed by a leading local Tory councillor as "a fascinating model" which could bring significant investment and employment to the Scottish Borders.

But following the financial collapse of 'disruptive' agri-business Orrdone Farms Ltd. - part of the Avocet Group of companies - it has been revealed that Scottish Borders Council is among more than 160 creditors claiming in excess of £11.3 million. The chances of recovering any of that money are said to be virtually non-existent.

The spectacular fall of Berwickshire-based Orrdone Farms, formerly known as Avocet Farms, has been well documented in these columns, including the misplaced praise for Avocet's activities by the Parliamentary Review, a publication endorsed by national politicians.

The collapse into liquidation or administration by several Avocet entities from 2020 onwards has left a trail of debt affecting small businesses to Government agencies. Scottish Borders Council has claimed £31,932 although no details of the debt have been given.

It was in October 2018, following a tour of the Orrdone Farms base at Harcarse Hill, near Duns, that Councillor Mark Rowley (Conservative), then Scottish Borders Council executive member for business and economic development, praised the 'pioneering' venture in an interview with the Berwickshire News.

Mr Rowley was quoted as saying: "The model is fascinating, I hope it will bring significant investment and employment to the Borders. Berwickshire has an exceptional reputation for agricultural innovation; from James Small’s revolutionary plough to the innovations of liming and marling that were pioneered here.

“It is exciting that such new and innovative techniques are now being pioneered by Avocet and local farms here in the Scottish Borders almost 300 years later.”

Investors and others were told the methods to be implemented at Harcarse would completely change the face of agricultural production. The operation would install a sizeable herd of Piedmontese cattle in a 'cow palace' with associated high-speed crop production.

Unfortunately, none of the plans came to fruition. And other Avocet initiatives involving the development of a 'wonder' fuel to power vehicles failed to materialise despite millions of pounds invested by shareholders.

And now, for the first time, the insolvent Orrdone company's administrator Emma Porter has published a full list of creditors although many of them have not submitted so-called Proofs of Debt and information relating to their claims. 

Ms Porter has again indicated that Orrdone's former directors Martin Frost, Bob Jennings and Eirlys Lloyd have failed to co-operate with the administrator since her appointment three years ago which means she has been unable to obtain an accurate picture of the company's dire financial position.

Harcarse Hill farm which includes a spacious farmhouse and a high quality designed garden has been sold with the proceeds going to secured creditor United Kingdom Agricultural Lending Ltd. [UKALL]. However, UKALL is still due over £5 million, according to Ms Porter's report, while the garden's designer Lee Ducker is a creditor seeking £18,400.

The complicated scenario facing the various insolvency experts trying to sort out the Avocet disaster includes counter claims from businesses within the group. In Orrdone's case, no fewer than 25 'creditors' bearing the Avocet name are included on the list. Many of those firms have now been dissolved. A huge claim for £10.3 million has come from liquidators of Avocet Infinite (now known as Omega Infinite) which was once the parent company of the group.

Others owed significant sums include Scottish Power [£23,000], Ryecroft Glenton, Avocet's former accountants [£23,000], His Majesty's Revenue and Customs - HMRC [ more than£400,000], Forestry & Land Scotland [£201,000]. Berwick-based Simpson's Malt is due £10,400 while many other local and British-based businesses are named.

The list does not include employee claims from four individuals seeking a total of £33,195. In addition, two redundancy claims amounting to £23,000 have also been lodged.

Ms Porter's report shows the administration is likely to cost several hundred thousands of pounds. There are insufficient assets to cover those costs, and so far any monies have been provided by UKALL.

A creditor who supplied us with comment on an anonymous basis said: "Small business people like me may be seen as gullible or guilty of naivety in providing the Orrdone management with our services. But at the same time I'm at a loss to understand why those in authority failed to see through this scam which has caused serious financial damage locally and farther afield. 

"This lot should have been stopped in their tracks very early on. We are told red flags were raised with Companies House and the Insolvency Service yet no-one from those regulatory bodies intervened. While we were being ripped off local 'dignitaries' were singing Orrdone's praises. How ironic to discover the local council has also been conned".

All quiet on the Borders budget front!

by OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EDITOR

They may be bitter rivals in the Holyrood parliament and elsewhere, but Conservative and Scottish National Party politicians have forged a unique alliance in the Scottish Borders to present local taxpayers with a united financial plan for the coming financial year.

Later this week a budget statement will be delivered at a full meeting of Scottish Borders Council by the authority's Tory leader Councillor Euan Jardine with the full backing of the 'rival' SNP group. It will mean a five per cent increase in local council tax with no blame for significant spending cuts being laid at the SNP Government's door.

The unprecedented spirit of co-operation between elected Unionists and Nationalists in Borders local government was born several months ago when membership of the council's powerful Executive was increased from 11 to 16 to accommodate two "opposition" SNP councillors along with one Liberal Democrat.

The move means that local politicians of every political hue now sit side by side on the "bloated" Executive. It means almost half of the 34 elected members are ensconced at SBC's top table. 

In his budget motion to Thursday's council meeting Councillor Jardine will tell colleagues: "The draft revenue and capital budget proposals have been developed following collaborative work over a number of months by a cross-party group of Councillors. Councillors across the Chamber have put aside political differences and have successfully come together to develop this single financial plan for 2023/24."

And he will also claim: "This is a budget for the Borders which maintains services and delivers our commitments on major capital projects, despite rising costs. In spite of significantly increased costs, particularly due to average inflation of 10 per cent, budget plans being presented today include a commitment to deliver all capital projects previously announced and protect frontline Scottish Borders Council services."

The recommended five per cent hike in Borders council tax bills - a proposal which is expected to be sanctioned without dissent - will mean Band D taxpayers will pay £1,356 in 2023/24.

Not Just Sheep & Rugby asked Stuart Bell, former SNP group leader on Scottish Borders Council what he made of the Nationalist-Conservative budget coalition.

Mr Bell, who did not stand for re-election at last year's Scottish council elections told us: "Although a small number of SNP friends have expressed concern at the lack of a distinctive profile of my Party on our Council I don’t really share that sentiment.

"A welcome reality is that there is a more co-operative profile from the Tory-led administration than we in the Opposition were confronted with over the previous five years.  So the expansion of the Council Executive to make it more representative of the political balance - something that the previous Tory group refused to countenance - is a change for the better, even if it makes for an enormous Executive!"

He pointed out that the SNP-Green Opposition had taken a distinct position in leading the challenge to spending public money (£50,000 in the Borders case) on Coronation parties.

 Mr Bell said: “It remains to be seen if the current budgetary co-operation across the Council will deliver better results for the Borders. Cross-council agreement certainly provides ‘cover’ for an administration that finds itself forced to implement an unwelcome five per cent increase in council tax. But what will a budgetary consensus deliver for those who chose not to vote for the Tories at the last election?  I, for one, wait to see." 

 He believed politics was about policy and it was healthy to have different policy perspectives represented on SBC - that reflected a reality in society. 

 But Mr Bell  added: “A sentiment that I do not share is that political differences can be just “put aside” as that could imply that genuine differences on policy might be articulated just to get elected and then dropped at will.  Because democracy must not only work it must be seen to work. So in a healthy democracy genuine differences are debated - respectfully debated - in public, and not just compromised in private." 

NHS Borders soon rumbled fake psychiatrist

by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

An unqualified doctor who used forged papers to land job after job in NHS trusts across the United Kingdom was fired after barely a month by NHS Borders following concerns over her practices in delivering treatment to psychiatric patients.

Zholia Alemi, now aged 60, managed to fool the General Medical Council and NHS managers by claiming she had obtained her qualifications after studying in New Zealand. She now faces a lengthy jail term following her conviction this week on 13 counts of fraud, three counts of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, two counts of forgery and two counts of using a false instrument.

The Iranian-born fraudster is estimated to have received £1.3 million in wages from the host of NHS posts she held including that very brief stay in the Scottish Borders.

Alemi was previously jailed for five years in 2017 on theft and fraud charges after she re-wrote the will of an 84-year-old widow and dementia sufferer in a bid to steal her victim's £1.3 million estate. After she was jailed, her false claims to be a fully qualified psychiatrist came to light.

The minute of a meeting of NHS Borders Board's Strategy & Performance Committee in December 2018 includes details of an update on Alemi which was given to Board members.

It states: "Dr Cliff Sharp updated the Committee in regard to the recent publicity concerning a bogus psychiatrist. He advised that NHS Borders had employed Ms Alemi from September to October 2003. Dr Sharp advised that he had been concerned about her practice and had terminated her contract and written to her locum agency about his concerns. 

"The General Medical Council (GMC) were aware as were the Mental Welfare Commission (MWC). Her patient notes were being reviewed to see if any patients she was involved with who may have been detained were detained illegally and treated illegally. Dr Sharp assured the Committee that NHS Borders psychiatric services worked in a dual way so that no-one was treated in an individual way, there were other staff present and several checks and balances built into the service provided."

Following the jury's verdict at Manchester Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday) Judge Hilary Manley remanded Alemi in custody and told her she will be sentenced at the same court on February 28. Judge Manley told her: "There is only one possible sentence and that will be a sentence of immediate custody of some substantial length."

She said it was a "deliberate and wicked deception" perpetrated against a number of health authorities. The judge said the deception allowed Alemi to work in positions which involved "potentially very vulnerable people over a long period of time" and described the offending as "very grave".

The judge made it clear that, before sentencing, she wanted to know "how it was this defendant was able to practise as long as she did, in so many positions". 

Specialist lawyers Thompson’s, Solicitors are planning legal action on behalf of patients who may have been treated by Alemi.

The firm's website explains how Alemi dropped out of medical school in her first year of study in New Zealand. Despite having no qualifications she registered as a Psychiatrist in the UK, falsely claiming to have a medical degree and worked in various parts of the UK for 22 years.

Thompson's state: "When Alemi's actions were uncovered, one health board - NHS Ayrshire and Arran - confirmed that she treated 395 adults while working as a locum for 18 months from 2007.

"Alemi also worked for other Scottish health boards. These include: 

• Greater Glasgow and Clyde where she worked between 2005 and 2006.
• NHS Tayside where Alemi was employed as a locum psychiatrist in 2009. 
• Alemi also worked for NHS Borders, NHS Highland and NHS Grampian.

"If you or a loved one has been treated by the bogus NHS Scotland psychiatrist Zholia Alemi or received a letter from your Health Board, it’s important you seek legal advice as you may have a claim for compensation."

Thompson's also carry a quote from mass litigation lawyer and partner Patrick McGuire who 'has years of experience dealing with cases of this type'.  

He said “The actions of Zholia Alemi are truly shocking. This fraudster and convicted criminal was allowed to practice as a NHS Psychiatrist for many years across Scotland while holding no qualifications.”

“During that time this fake doctor used her authority to change the treatment of extremely vulnerable patients. She used her position to commit patients to secure mental health units denying people their very liberty.”

“She used her position to dupe and endanger the lives of hundreds of vulnerable trusting Scots.” This disgraceful state of affairs will not go unanswered by the families affected. My team are at the early stages of preparing civil legal action on behalf of the patients Alemi conned and endangered. If you or a member of your family have been sent a letter by the health authorities concerning treatment by Zholia Alemi you can contact Thompsons Solicitors".

Gym sign unfit, say planners

EXCLUSIVE by LESTER CROSS

The owner of a Borders gym with a membership of 250 has appealed against a decision by planners to outlaw his large advertising hoarding on a Galashiels gable, a target for strong criticism from the operator of a rival fitness centre.

Now, the dispute over the sign advertising Conrad Campbell's Unit8 Gym in nearby Tweedbank will be settled by a Scottish Government planning reporter following his challenge against Scottish Borders Council's decision to refuse permission on grounds of safety and amenity.

The large Unit8 board was installed in Hall Street, Galashiels without the submission of a planning application to the local authority. The retrospective request was rejected in November last year.

A supporting statement from Mr Campbell which accompanied his application included the following: "The purpose of the sign installation at this location is to increase awareness of the gym’s presence to those residing and working within the central and west side of Galashiels. The gym currently has over 250 members and I’m trying to further increase membership, offering its facilities to everyone in Galashiels and the surrounding areas. 

"My friend who owns the first-floor property at 1 Hall Street was more than happy to grant consent for the sign. I did not at the time realise that advertisement consent would be required. I feel that the sign blends in aesthetically, that it’s not out of place in this location and does not have any detrimental effect. The sign is professionally installed and secure. I have worked hard and through these tough times to build my business and explore other avenues to further boost gym membership and hope that this application can be viewed positively."

But his pleas failed to impress SBC's planning department.

The refusal notice states: " The advertisement would represent a threat to road safety and would, as a result, impact adversely on public safety at this location. 2 The advertisement would not relate well to the location at which it is displayed, or be in keeping with the character of the building to which it is attached, and would contribute to unsightly clutter, thereby having an adverse impact on the amenity of the surrounding area."

Three letters of objection had been submitted, one of them from Daniel Crowe, a director of Titan 365 with a gym in Wheatlands Road, Galashiels.

Mr Crowe wrote: " If this application were to be granted, I fear we will be able to see nothing on our streets other than business advertising themselves. I for one don't want that to happen. As a local business owner myself, I believe that a business should operate within the rules set out by the SBC and the Scottish Government. 

"I also believe a business should be able to grow, thrive, advertise and conduct itself with a certain amount of class. Whilst I fully understand the need to advertise services to the local area, I believe this sign is seriously misplaced as the entire area of Galashiels is already covered by three very successful fitness facilities." 

But in his appeal application to the national planning agency, Mr Campbell claims: "I believe that the sign blends in well with the surroundings, is secure and it not a hazard to adjacent road users, not being any more distracting than any other sign adjacent to any other roadway. Its promotes health and wellbeing, has been generally well accepted by local people in the immediate surrounding area, none of whom objected to the application. All objections received were from another local gym and their members."

Council's traffic figures disputed by Transport Scotland

EXCLUSIVE by LESTER CROSS

Claims made by a firm of consultants that future housing and commercial developments in Hawick, Jedburgh and Tweedbank will have a "negligible effect" on the trunk road network in the Scottish Borders have been challenged by Government agency Transport Scotland.

In effect, the national transport authority is maintaining the traffic analysis commissioned by Scottish Borders Council in support of its Local Development Plan [LDP] is flawed, and was performed without prior consultation with the agency.

The differing opinions are outlined in newly published documents which form part of the Borders LDP's examination by a team of Scottish Government planning reporters. The outcome of the examination will determine which of the development sites being promoted by the local authority will receive ministerial approval for inclusion in the Plan.

SBC's plans include an extension of the village of Tweedbank by constructing at least 300 new homes together with facilities for business activities on the 'greenfield' Lowood estate. The first planning application linked to Lowood's development is currently being processed by the council's own planning officers.

Transport Scotland lodged formal objections to proposed sites for Tweedbank, Hawick and Jedburgh.

In the case of Tweedbank, the written objection stated: "The ‘Site Requirements’ for allocated site MTWEE003 [the LDP reference number for Lowood] should include any required transport interventions that have been identified through a cumulative transport appraisal including sites from within Galashiels that do not have planning permission, to fully understand the potential cumulative impact of the developments. 

"Information should also be included within the Site Requirements on how any identified transport improvements will be funded and delivered. It is considered the mitigation should be identified within the Proposed Plan and the transport appraisal should take cognisance of the allocations within Galashiels which do not have planning permission, to identify the potential cumulative impact of the developments on the transport network."

SBC commissioned Stantec, an international firm of designers and project managers, to assemble a so-called TRICS (Trip Rate Information Computer Systems) assessment of the likely number of increased vehicle trips generated by LDP proposals for Tweedbank, Hawick and Jedburgh.

The 130-page report from Stantec concludes: "Based on the above assessment it is Stantec’s assessment that the proposed developments will have a negligible effect on the Trunk Road network within the relevant towns and the overall Trunk Road Network within the Scottish Borders."

Following receipt of that report the transport agency was asked by the planning reporters if it was content that the methodolgy and conclusions of the TRICS exercise were sound.

Transport Scotland, in its response published today, make it clear they are not "content".

It claims: "Transport Scotland is not content with the Stantec TRICS assessment as it does not fully address the points raised within the representations submitted for Hawick, Jedburgh or Tweedbank. The Council commissioned this assessment without any engagement with Transport Scotland and we note the assessment is dated February 2022.

"Transport Scotland would have welcomed involvement in initial discussions on the scope and detail of the assessment in order to resolve the issues identified resulting in a more timeous examination."

And the written response adds that the TRICS assessment for Tweedbank is based mainly on qualitative information on potential junction impacts. No data has been provided on junction operation or capacity with and without the developments. 

"There is no information presented on percentage change at junctions related to either trips, vehicles or delay. The assessment used a number of exclusions when selecting the data. This is not uncommon, but there is no justification for these exclusions.

"Sites within Galashiels which do not have permission required to be included in the assessment of the Tweedbank site. Assessment of the (Tweedbank) sites requires to take account of the mixed use elements and not be solely based on the housing element, quantitative analysis of nearby trunk road junctions before and after the addition of the Tweedbank site and other unconsented sites".

The sections of the Stantec report covering Hawick and Jedburgh also come in for criticism from Transport Scotland.

Three Borders PFI schools to cost £360 million, data shows

EXCLUSIVE by EWAN LAMB

Taxpayers are facing a total bill of £361 million to cover the costs associated with three Scottish Borders secondary schools built fifteen years ago via the highly controversial and expensive PFI arrangements, according to newly released statistics.

On Friday the Scottish Government published 'transparency data' showing the annual unitary charge payments of all PFI schemes since the system which financed public infrastructure investment was introduced around a quarter of a century ago.

Scottish Borders Council opted for a PFI deal to build schools in Eyemouth, Duns and Earlston with a 31 year contract to run from 2008/09 to 2038/39. 

Between them, the three educational establishments have a capital value of £89.6 million. The contract is in the hands of Luxembourg-based Bilfinger Berger Project Investments and its UK subsidiary Scottish Borders Education Partnership Ltd. [SBEP] with a registered office in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

The Scottish Government publication outlines the annual payments made by the Borders procurers so far, and forecasts the amounts to be paid during the remaining 17 years of the contract.

In the 14 financial years to March 2022 unity charge payments totalled £107.8 million with a gradual yearly increase from £0.5 million in 2008/09 to £9.7 million in 2021/22.

The unitary charge payments made under the terms of a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) provide a revenue stream for capital investors, repaying principal and interest and the costs of production for service providers.

According to the new data, the annual charges to be met in the Borders case will continue to increase from £10.4 million in 2022/23 up to £19.2 million in 2037/38 before a final demand for £12.5 million in 2038/39. The overall predicted total in the remaining 17 years of the contract adds up to £253.2 million.

The Scottish Borders School PFI project has proved to be a money spinner for SBEP. 

Accounts for 2020, filed by the Partnership's directors at Companies House showed a profit of £1.425 million was made despite the presence of Covid 19. It meant that since the initiative was launched SBEP had racked up total surpluses of £10.576 million. according to figures contained in successive annual reports.

Then, last year, the PFI Borders project recorded an operating profit of £1.121 million. Dividends paid to the Bilfinger Berger shareholders amounted to £460,000 in 2021, up from £197,000 the previous year.

In recent years, two major school building projects have been completed for the council in Kelso and Jedburgh under a different financial regime overseen by the Scottish Government.

Kelso High School, with a capital value of £24.3 million, and Jedburgh Campus (£34.8 million) were completed as so-called Design, Build, Finance, Maintain projects.

A government publication issued in 2019 showed total unitary charge payments in the Kelso school project would be £54.2 million with payments totalling £76 million in Jedburgh's case.

Members of Scottish Borders Council were told in 2014 - before work on a replacement Kelso High School started - that "revenue support to cover the unitary charge will be provided to the council from the Scottish Government up to a set level based on the project scope which has been agreed to be funded through Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme.

"This revenue support will be calculated from the financial model established from the project parameters. The council will be required to meet the unitary charge component covering hard facilities management and lifecycle replacement over the 25-year concessionary period."