Borders holiday village plan: 4 need-to-know business stories

Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.
1. Plans for a holiday village in the Scottish Borders have been scaled back and resubmitted for approval.
The ambitious Rutherford Park project has faced opposition from residents in West Linton since it was first mooted in 2018.
The fresh planning application is for 79 lodges, down from the 250 units originally, which will only occupy ten hectares out of an 80-hectare site.
A previous blueprint for an 18-hole golf course has been revised to a pitch and putt, plus two tennis courts and one for padel, another racket sport. An existing golf clubhouse would be converted into gym and catering space.
Developers said it would be an investment of £11.6 million in the Scottish Borders bringing 27 jobs and contributing more than £1 million annually to the local economy.
They also plan to rewild a large portion of the area and create cycle paths, parkland and woodland walks.
A spokesman for the developer, Sandy Lane Resort Rutherford, said: “What is being proposed is a greatly reduced scheme from the one originally envisaged, taking account of community concerns.
“[It] will not only deliver an economic boost to the Borders but also provide major ecological enhancements for the site, including the delivery of a minimum of 80,000 trees.”
2. STV’s production arm has announced several recommissions and one new show.
That includes a second season of Criminal Record, a crime drama starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo, for Apple TV+.
It is also making further episodes of Bridge of Lies for the BBC as well as the celebrity version of that quiz.
More4 has ordered a second series of The Royals: A History of Scandals, and Channel 4 has commissioned The Game of Wool, a new entertainment format to find the UK’s best knitter.
David Mortimer, the managing director of STV Studios, said: “Following the global success of the first series, I’m thrilled that Apple TV+ has committed to a second series of our critically acclaimed thriller, Criminal Record.
“Landmark dramas like this, together with strong returning factual and entertainment series alongside exciting new formats with international appeal, are driving the creative and commercial momentum within STV Studios.
“We’re pleased to be making such strong strategic progress in what remains a very challenging commissioning market.”
3. Organisations from across the oil and gas supply chain have warned the UK government that plans to increase tax on the sector will risk thousands of jobs.
An open letter sent to Sarah Jones, the minister for industry, was signed by more than 40 companies across manufacturing, engineering and technology.
It said the plans to increase the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), taking the headline rate from 75 to 78 per cent, extend the charge by another 12 months until 2030 and remove some investment allowances would damage the UK’s industrial future.
Offshore Energies UK, the trade body, said the supply chain companies, which do not pay EPL but are suppliers to firms that do, are crucial to the UK’s net zero targets since they work in renewable energy too.
The letter said the tax plans “would be a blunt response which could undermine the levers to long-term solutions and jeopardise jobs in communities across the UK”.
4. An Edinburgh law firm has set up a permanent office in Orkney.
Anderson Strathern’s base at The Old Library building in Kirkwall is headed by Sheila Tulloch, a partner, and has two other solicitors.
Tulloch said: “Being from the islands, I fully understand the needs and challenges facing the community today.
“Having a team on the ground will strengthen our offering to our clients as well as appeal to those keen to do business face to face.”