Contract awarded for major Council office redevelopment in Wick

14th December 2012

Work will start early in the new year on the construction of a new Council headquarters for Caithness, in the centre of Wick.

The contractor, to be confirmed soon, will demolish the old listed building at Market Place and refurbish/restore the adjoining, Stafford Place Buildings, retaining the listed façade, to accommodate 140 Council staff currently based in a number of offices in Wick. The new building will be built on three floors to the front and two floors at the rear.

During construction, the 80 Council staff currently based in Market Place/Stafford Place will move to the nearby former and vacant DSS office on Girnigoe Street. The Service Point will also be located at Girnigoe Street on the ground floor. Local contractor Gerry Henderson is carrying out works valued at £40,000 to prepare the Girnigoe Street premises for their temporary use by the Council.

The flit is planned for Friday 18 January, next year, with the Service Point operating from Girnigoe Street from Monday 21 January.

When the new Council offices open, staff presently based at High Street (Social Work) and Rhind House (Education Culture and Sport).

The total estimated cost of the project is £8.5 milllion.

A separate contract is also being progressed for the refurbishment of Wick Town Hall, including installation of a lift to make it fully accessible.

The Council has chosen to retain a presence in the town centre by replacing the Market Place/Stafford Place buildings in recognition of the importance of regenerating Wick town centre. The benefits are:-

• Improved Council office accommodation and Service Point
• Improved appearance of Wick town centre and streetscape
• Protection of economic activity in Wick town centre
• Potential for new retail space at ground floor on High Street elevation
• Rationalisation of Council assets by selling surplus buildings for potential commercial development by others
• Reduced running costs
• Reduced Council carbon footprint
• Improved working methods and productivity for Council staff

Council Leader Drew Hendry said: “This is the second major office rationalisation project undertaken by the Council as we strive to manage our assets to best effect. Staff in East Sutherland are now based under one roof at Drummuie, Golspie. Studies are continuing into the rationalisation of offices in Inverness and Dingwall as well as Kingussie. I am delighted with this significant investment in Caithness which will give the area a real boost in these challenging economic times.”

Caithness and Sutherland Area Committee Leader Deirdre Mackay is delighted with the Council’s investment in Wick.
She said: “The provision of new Council offices in Wick, replacing the premises in Market Place, High Street (Social Work) and Rhind House (ECS), is a long-standing Council priority. The Market Square/Stafford Buildings suffer from significant subsidence and are in very poor condition.

“We looked at a number of options for replacing the Market Place/Stafford Place offices, which have long outlived their useful life. Replacing them with modern and accessible accommodation was by far the best solution as it will play an important role in regenerating Wick town centre. The presence of 120 staff and people visiting the Service Point can only be good for businesses in the centre of town.2

Caithness Civic Leader, Councillor Gail Ross added: “This is really good news for the Wick economy and another very significant investment by the Council in the area. Having all our staff based under one roof in Market Place is more convenient for the public and good for inter-service working and helps bolster the town centre.

“It is also great news for the construction industry as we will also be building two new primary schools and a new secondary school in Wick at a further cost of £50 million+.”

Wick councillor Bill Fernie said "I am pleased that the last few years of discussions and planning are finally coming to fruition. I have always believed that the east of Caithness including wick required some substantial building works to help regenerate the area. We now have in place significant investments coming to the town of Wick with this latest series of announcements. The list now includes -
New Wick High School
New Swimming Pool
New Library
Two new primary schools to replace four older ones.
New council offices
Refurbishment of Wick town Hall to include disabled access.
A new children's home at a site near Rhind house
The Nuclear Archive announced this week to create 20 jobs.
This is very significant number of medium to large projects and gives us chance to ensure that wick is one of the best places to move to in coming years making it great town to invest in for the private sector improving the quality of life for all of our citizens"

The Wellington Centre at the Airport Industrial Estates is being used as a temporary repository for Council archives.