Wick property owners will be asked to smarten up their buildings
Some of the property owners in Wick town centre are to be encouraged by the local community council to smarten up their buildings.
They will be asked to clear unsightly guttering and rone pipes and attend to any other signs of neglect – not just to improve the appearance of the main streets but to remove potential safety hazards.
The matter was raised at the October meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council on Monday night.
“There have certainly been small bits and pieces done with the town centre – we can't say that nothing has been done," community councillor Allan Bruce said. "But I just feel that we need sustainability.
"We need the centre of the town to be looked after – for it to be somebody's regular responsibility and their job, basically.”

He added: “Do you think as a community council we're at the stage where we should be approaching some of these shops? There is a lot to be said for actually going into the shops rather than sending letters or emails.”
Community councillor Doreen Turner pointed out that some of the properties in question could be vacant.
Vice-chairman Allan Farquhar said: “It has got to be personal contact and/or letters because at least they can't come back and say they didn't know something was wrong.”
Members agreed with Mr Farquhar that the community council should write to the owners in question to highlight problems with their properties.
He said afterwards that the community council will liaise with Wick's Heart, the local development trust, "and explore any opportunity to brighten up our town centre".
Meanwhile, this week's meeting heard that Wick Community Market – as a subcommittee of the community council – hopes to have around 20 gazebos available to microbusinesses and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) for a market during the run-up to the festive season.
It would begin on the town's Christmas fun day and would ideally include the use of the foyer at Caithness House in Market Square, as happened for a series of markets in 2019. However, Mr Farquhar pointed out that this will be dependent on Covid guidelines in place at that time.
He explained that the community market seeks to complement established town centre businesses with a "keep it local" theme.