Drastic medicine for Doctor Leask's house in Wick
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A DERELICT building which has turned into an eyesore in Wick town centre looks set to be demolished.
The operators of the Norseman Hotel, which owns the property at 9 High Street, popularly known as Doctor Leask's house, have submitted an application to tear the building down.
The house, which has been abandoned for decades, is now in a state of disrepair and is the subject of a demolition order from the Highland Council.
Norseman Hotel manager Andrew Mackay said that the building has become too dangerous to enter and it is time to knock it down.
“It’s fair to say that the building has turned into an eyesore in Wick town centre,” he said.
“The owners of the hotel have acted since receiving the demolition order and plan to flatten the house.
“Unfortunately, after assessing the building, the owners deemed it financially unviable to restore the house back to its former glory, therefore there is no other option but to knock it down. It is an eyesore for tourists in the main street and to guests at the hotel so we think that the demolition of the building will be approved by everyone.”
Mr Mackay also suggested that the land may be redeveloped in the future to extend the facilities at the hotel, but no plans have yet been made.
“Once the demolition is complete, we would love to possibly redevelop the land if money and time permits.
“Our long-term goal would be to possibly build a summer house which we could use for weddings and social events.
But there are no concrete plans at the moment to go ahead with ideas, as we are only looking to demolish the existing building.”
Outgoing chairwoman of Wick Community Council Coreen Campbell welcomed the application and said that there were other derelict buildings in the town centre which needed to be demolished too.
“It is sad that what was once a beautiful building which has had so much emotional attachment to the town is going to be knocked down,” she said.
“But for safety reasons it is the right thing to do for the town centre and for the Norseman Hotel in terms of them operating as a business.
“However, the amount of derelict buildings which exist in the town has been a subject which has been debated at the community council for a number of years.
“I don’t think that Doctor Leask's building is in as bad a state of disrepair as other buildings which are located in the town centre.
“The building across from it which was supposed to be turned into an entertainment complex is in far worse condition.”
She added: “The community council used to do a walkabout in town and look at various buildings in the town centre which were derelict. But no action has ever been taken and the condition of these buildings has been allowed to get even worse.”
