A CHARITY has been helping Wickers realise the potential of their town centre by holding open sessions with the public during the past week – with more planned for next month.

Sustrans Scotland's remit of creating "liveable neighbourhoods" was one of the key themes during the open sessions at Caithness House and the Pulteney Centre on Thursday in which almost 100 local people turned out to have their say.

Working alongside local councillors and the public, the team are creating a vision for a revamped town centre under the Wick Street Design Project.

The county's civic leader, Councillor Willie Mackay, said: "After spending seven hours with the young Sustrans team in Wick, I was very impressed that they left no stone unturned in their quest to design a street programme which seeks to improve Wick's town centre by designing a space that is safer, more welcoming, more attractive and more useful for locals and visitors alike."

Councillor Mackay said the team members were "very well received by locals" right from 10am when they set up a gazebo in the town's Market Square. Local volunteers painted a bench bright blue and introduced a planter filled with seasonal flowers to the town centre.

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The Sustrans team encouraged local residents to re-imagine the High Street as an "inclusive space" for everyone to spend time in and travel through on foot or by bicycle. Participants provided valuable insight reflecting the needs and aspirations of the local community.

Kasia Koziel, Sustrans’ project lead, said: “We’ve really enjoyed our week in Wick getting to know the community and we would like to thank everyone that joined us. Our team were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the participants and their willingness to embrace the project.

“After considering some of our earlier consultations with residents, we decided to add the new, colourful bench as a focal point in the High Street. We would love to hear feedback and to know what your thoughts are and whether you would be interested in the bench becoming a permanent fixture.”

The discussions and findings from the activities throughout the week will be used to inform the project team and allow them to develop design concepts.

The Wick Street Design Project’s next public event, in the last week of November, will allow local people to further develop the ideas and opportunities raised last week.

Sustrans Scotland describes itself as a charity that makes it easier for people to walk and cycle, with its staff made up from "engineers and educators, experts and advocates".

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