Council Prepares For Wick Office Flit
10th January 2013
The Highland Council is ready to move from its base in Market Place in Wick to temporary accommodation in nearby Girnigoe Street in preparation for the £8 million redevelopment of the Market Place site as modern Council office accommodation.
Offices in Market Place, including the Service Point, will close on Friday 18 January at 3pm and relocate to Government Buildings, Girnigoe Street. 80 staff are involved in the move.
All business currently undertaken at the Market Place will continue at Girnigoe Street from Monday 21 January. The Service Point will open at 9.30 am.
The existing telephone lines will be discontinued from the date of the move.
New numbers are as follows:
01349 886606 General enquiries
01349 886601 Roads and Street Lighting
01349 886602 House repairs, applications and rent enquiries
01349 886603 Domestic Special Uplifts and Bins, Abandoned Vehicles, Fly Tipping, Dog Fouling and Pest Control
01349 886604 Blue Badge, Travel and National Entitlement Cards
01349 886605 Make a payment by Debit or Credit Card
01349 886608 ePlanning
01349 886657 Election helpline
01955 609524 Registration of births deaths and marriages.
Local contractor Gerry Henderson has carried out works valued at £40,000 to prepare the Girnigoe Street premises for their temporary use by the Council.
The Council has also awarded a contract to Morgan Sindall to carry out the redevelopment of Market Place. This will see demolition of the old listed building at Market Place and refurbishment/restoration of 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.
When the new Council offices open, staff presently based at High Street (Social Work) and Rhind House (Education Culture and Sport) will move there.
A separate contract is also being progressed for the refurbishment of Wick Town Hall, including installation of a lift to make it fully accessible.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Members have considered an update on the Council's medium term financial plan and the impact of the UK and Scottish Governments’ budgets on the coming year’s funding settlement. The position is currently looking more positive than initially planned for, however more detail needs to be worked through.
In November, The Highland Council launched a public statutory consultation to seek views on the proposed introduction of a Visitor Levy scheme across the Highlands. The Council has announced an extension to this consultation period, which will now give businesses, visitors and communities until 31 March 2025, an additional seven weeks, to take part and have their say.
In the light of the financial forecast for 2025-26, Highland Council is inviting you to tell us more in the budget preparation for the coming financial year. The budget engagement builds on extensive budget participation which took place in the winter of 2023-24.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Every year Highland Council invites all tenants to have their say on the rent levels for the following year. The Council encourages everyone that lives in a council house to take this chance to have their say.
Communities and Place Committee met yesterday (Wednesday 27 November 2024) and Members agreed the Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report which includes actions for delivery in 2024/25. Reducing child poverty is a priority for the Council and its partners.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Members of the Highland Council's Community and Place Committee have given their support to an action plan focusing on the operating of public conveniences over the next 10 years. Whilst not a statutory function, the Council is the main provider of public conveniences located throughout Highland, operating 74 sites.
A report published on 27 November 2024 by LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) looks at the state of funding for councils by the Scottish Government. Confidence in the sustainability of council finances is critically low.
At today's (Wednesday 27 November 2024) Communities & Place Committee, Members agreed the most appropriate long-term strategic direction for residual waste management is to continue to utilise a merchant provider solution. Communities & Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: "After careful consideration and analysis it has been agreed that a merchant provider solution is considered the most appropriate long term solution to our statutory waste management obligations, and that an energy-from- waste facility within the Highlands is not considered to be a suitable course of action.
