Offices plan critics are slammed as ‘shallow’
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CRITICS of a new development in Wick have been branded "shallow" for raising last-minute objections to the plans.
Local Highland councillor Graeme Smith said opponents to the new £8.5 million council offices in Market Square were guilty of sitting back and allowing the development to go through.
He made his views known – along with fellow Wick Highland councillor Bill Fernie – at Monday night’s meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council.
It came after members revealed locals had disapproved of the plans after seeing an artist’s impression of how the offices will look in Dan Mackay’s column in the Caithness Courier on Wednesday, February 22.
But when the application went through the Highland Council’s planning process it only received one letter of objection and was given the green light in January.
Mr Smith said the plans were given the go ahead as a result of democracy and the fact there was little opposition was one of the reasons why it was passed.
"For the last nine months people have been hearing the plans and saying how wonderful it would be when it is finished," he said.
"But I have to say that it is typical of a certain element of Caithness that they wait until the last minute after the due process has been carried out and gone through before raising an objection and it can only be described as shallow in the extreme.
"People have had their opportunity to say their opinions about the plans but did nothing about it."
Community councillors said they had not seen any of the artistic impressions of the proposed buildings but had only spoken to the architects about the plans.
But it was raised by the Highland councillors that there was an exhibition in Wick last July showing pictures of what the building would look like once completed. However, only 11 people turned up to see the plans.
Mr Fernie echoed Mr Smith’s views, saying the opportunity was there for people to give their opinions. He said it is too late to back out now.
"Given that there was quite a lot of opportunity for people to give their opinion on the matter as well as the public display being heavily advertised through various media sources, there was only one member of the public who raised an issue to the plans," he said.
"I think most of the councillors agree that it is a bit late for members of the public to criticise the building now it has been passed. All the processes have gone through, there was the opportunity to make comments and almost nobody did.
"The application also went through the planning committee and there was only one comment made and now we are at the stage of going to tender where it is far too late to start jumping in objecting against the plans."
Community councillor David Dunnett said he had spoken to members of the public who could not believe the artistic impression when they saw it in the Courier, saying it seemed alien.
"One person turned to me and asked was it a joke or if that is what they were really planning to build," he said.
"I think that there are not that many people who went to the public exhibition and to me this is a case of the council thinking that they are allowed to build whatever they want where they can stick a modern building like that in the centre of the town which looks completely out of place."
The interior of the building has already started to be cleared out with a view to beginning construction work in October.
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What do you think of plans for the new-look building? Comment online at www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk
