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Faked objections lodged against Orkney hotel plans

News imageBBC Steven Kemp is standing outside a housing development. He is wearing white hard hat and a high visibility vest over a pink polo shirt.BBC
Builder Steven Kemp said the names of people he knew well were used in one of the fake submissions

A Scottish islands council is investigating fake planning objections that were lodged against a proposed hotel.

Two phoney submissions were made to Orkney Islands Council's online planning portal opposing the project proposed for Kirkwall's Junction Road.

They were made using recognised names and local business addresses without their knowledge or consent.

Builder Steven Kemp, who is behind the hotel plans, said he personally knew two people whose names were used for one of the objections.

Kemp told BBC Radio Scotland's Around Orkney programme: "It was really weird. I know the couple very well and they were completely perplexed.

"Whoever did it they did it with a degree of naivety because they didn't realise we all know each other."

The builder also suspected AI was used in writing the objections because they lacked local knowledge of the site and a lack of awareness of planning policy.

Kemp said he had not encountered fake objections before in more than 20 years in the building trade.

News imageBracewell The visualisation shows a block-like building with a brown decorative wall and a ground floor with a glass frontage.Bracewell
An architect's visualisation of the proposed hotel

Orkney Islands Council said it was investigating the submissions.

A spokesperson said: "Upon being contacted by the affected persons and businesses, the council immediately removed the representations and are now investigating the submissions, including working to trace their source.

"The council is not aware of any other occurrences of this nature since the introduction of the online planning system in 2008.

"The matter will be raised in the national heads of planning network."

Heads of Planning Scotland, the representative organisation for senior planning managers from Scotland's local authorities and national park authorities, said it would engage with Orkney Islands Council on the matter.

A spokesperson said: "Other bodies can look into planning concerns arising in a council area, such as the council itself and through complaint to the Public Sector Ombudsman."