Local fury over construction work at site of demolished cottage in Wick
A local woman has condemned the ongoing roadworks around Station Road and Bankhead in Wick as a hindrance to motorists, ambulances and pedestrians using the nearby hospital.
Brenda Herrick lives close to the site where work has been ongoing since a historic cottage was demolished at the corner of Thurso Road and Bankhead to allow better access for wind turbine components using the roads.
“I have just been talking to a friend who had to drive round there the other day and she said there was a traffic jam due to all the works in Bankhead and an ambulance was held up and couldn't get through,” said Mrs Herrick today (June 6).
“The situation with ambulances is bad enough and presumably this could happen again if they got stuck behind turbine parts.”
She referenced an article, published in the paper on March 22 this year, called ‘Historic cottage demolished in Wick to make way for turbines’ and said it “underestimates the effect of large turbines travelling through” the area.
“I seem to remember turbine parts coming into the harbour some time ago and travelling out via the A99, which wasn't great but better than this. There seems to have been a total lack of planning by the council – no surprise there – and the result is chaos.
“The previous article shows the corner where that little cottage was demolished and I still can't work out what they are doing with the site as it seems to be endless preparation works for something.
“Lately, the work has continued round the corner down Bankhead, past the hospital, train station and police station. I have no idea how anyone can access the train station now as most of that road is inaccessible due to various roadworks cutting much of it off.
“I needed to go into town yesterday and thought I would try walking that way as the pavement along the main road makes using my rollator [walking frame] difficult but soon realised Bankhead was inaccessible for pedestrians. It's such a mess with half the road and pavements cut off.”
Mrs Herrick thinks that even when the work has been completed she cannot imagine “how the road will ever be suitable” for moving large turbine parts.
“There are too many bends. What happens when the hospital car parks and some buildings are inaccessible? Will they observe the pedestrian crossings? What about the bus stops in Thurso Road? How often is this going to happen for future windfarms after Camster? It's all crazy.”
A spokesperson for RWE said: “The work and traffic lights are due to creating a driveable surface at the cottage site for turbine deliveries and reinforcing the footways next to it.
“We have also done similar works at the hospital on the same road. In addition, we have supported the removal of some redundant equipment at the hospital to support their operations.
“Works will be finished ahead of the first turbine delivery on 17th June.”
At Monday’s meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council, Cllr Raymond Bremner referenced the newspaper article from March and said he had posted information on his social media page about the matter.
In his post called ‘DEMOLITION OF BANKHEAD COTTAGE – THE FACTS’ the Wick and east Caithness councillor said he wanted to put right some of the misconceptions about the demolition of the cottage and subsequent work to allow turbine components to pass through.
He wrote: “Bankhead Cottage was purchased in 2008, sixteen years ago by RWE Renewables. This was nine years before I was elected. The owner is a windfarm developer.
“There is nothing I could or would do, legally, as part of a quasi-judicial process, as a local councillor, to stop the demolition of that property by its legal owner, even though they are a windfarm developer that purchased the property many years before I was elected.”
He went on to inform the public that the work is being done to “transport components oversailing that area as part of the construction of Camster II windfarm” and that trees in the location have been removed but new ones will be planted.
“During the oversail period, a Heras fence will be put in place so that it can be easily removed when needed. It will be replaced by a permanent wooden fence. The location will be made good and grassed over and RWE Renewables will consult on the future use.”
Referencing some of the local criticisms about “councillors doing nothing about” the matter he said that “we are doing nothing about it because, legally, we absolutely can’t do anything about it. The demolition is legally permitted.”
He also attached Highland Council documents to his post pertaining to the cottage demolition and plans for the site.
He added: “Can I encourage folks to research online media first before they make their comments in respect of an online newspaper headline or article which many don’t even read behind the paywall – a number of the facts I’ve posted here are correctly reported in the article.”