Council leader tells of going through 'pain barrier' to secure vital funds for Wick
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Highland Council leader Raymond Bremner has declared that Wick "could not get better news" than the recent go-ahead for a £395,000 refurbishment of the public conveniences in the town centre.
He spoke of having to go through the "pain barrier" to secure vital funds for local projects but said he was delighted that work will start soon on getting the Whitechapel Road toilets reopened.
The local authority announced at the end of March that a contract had been awarded to Norbloc Construction, based in Halkirk, to undertake the full refurbishment of the conveniences which have been closed since early 2020 after being targeted in a series of acts of vandalism.
Councillor Bremner, who represents Wick and East Caithness, told the monthly meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council on Monday: “This should have been one of the best news stories in donkey's years.
"I remember tearing my hair out at this table when you guys were so frustrated about the fact that we'd shut the toilets and they were never being opened and they were taking so long. And here we are.”
The contractors will carry out ground stabilisation works followed by a complete strip-out of existing fittings before installing new fittings, upgrading services and putting on a new roof covering.
“You could not get better news than that," Councillor Bremner said.
It had been suggested earlier this year that the works, originally estimated at around £250,000, could be scrapped in favour of a new modular building at a cost of around £280,000 after the price of refurbishment looked set to rise to £400,000.
Councillor Bremner said: "We knew that it was going to be a quarter of a million by the time we had a look at it, and then when it started ramping up to around about £400,000 I said we might be forced to have a look at making sure there isn't cheaper option out there – because if that's the case then we'll be accused of spending the money without making sure that we've got the best deal for it.
“We went out and looked at a modular building and we found out that we were as broad as we were long.
"We didn't just want a revamp with sinks, taps and what have you, and then open the place again. That wasn't working. It was being vandalised.
"We had to look at the whole building as a new concept.
“Then we had to find the money. We found the money from lots of different pots, and those pots were never ever going to go on the roads.
“I knew we were going to be facing this because of the state of the roads. I knew that every single person would be wanting every single penny to be spent on the roads and you'll get no toilets, you'll get no town centre regeneration, you'll get no nothing – but you'll have fine roads.
“But then what will we have? Everybody complaining that we don't have toilets in the town. It's a vicious circle.
“Not only have we got money for the roads, and we hopefully will be getting money for the town centre, but we will also have the money for the toilets. That has taken a lot of hard work and I for one am not just delighted but it shows you that when people work together we can actually deliver something against the grain.
"We were fighting this the whole way along. We went through the same thing with the riverside car park.
“I hate having to go through this pain barrier to deliver something that the town has always wanted. Most of the people in the town want it, they're delighted that we're getting it, and I can't wait until it's delivered and then that'll be another thing that we've managed to achieve.”
Starting this month, the works are expected to take around four months to complete.
The toilets will include showering and locker facilities.
