The Highland Council will hold a drop-in session at the end of the month to share the design for the pedestrian zone in the High Street and the Bridge Street/High Street junction, part of the wider regeneration of Wick town centre.
The purpose of the session is to share more detail so the Council can finalise the design, secure a funding stream and move on to preparing tender documents and the construction phase. Subject to a positive response and successful funding bid, it is intended that construction works could start before the end of the year.
Leader of The Highland Council and Wick ward member, Councillor Raymond Bremner said: "I want to thank everyone who has come along to the various consultation events and provided feedback to help us get to this stage.
“The designs capture the aspirations of the community and what is proposed will really give the town centre a lift and make it a more welcoming and attractive place for people to spend time in.
“The drop-in session next Friday is a great chance for folk to come along to look at the drawings and ask questions of the project team who will be in attendance as I hope as many people as possible come along."
The project began in 2019 when The Highland Council in partnership with The Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council and Caithness Community Partnership applied to Sustrans Scotland for funding for a collaborative design process through the Street Design Programme. The project team was led by Sustrans' Street Design team, in partnership with The Highland Council. The project team worked collaboratively with the local community of Wick between September 2019 and October 2020 to develop a concept design which aimed to create:
• Warm, welcoming and more attractive public spaces;
• A comfortable and safe environment to walk, wheel and cycle;
• Better travel experiences through Wick town centre - particularly when accessing local facilities;
• A sense of identity for the town centre in Wick, drawing on local culture and heritage.
Following completion of the concept stage, a further successful bid for funding was made to the Sustrans Places for Everyone programme. This has allowed The Highland Council to take the ideas from the concept phase and work them into a detailed design which can be used to tender for construction works.
Design details will be on display in the foyer of Caithness House on Friday 31 March from 11am to 4pm and staff will be on hand to discuss the project.