View Full Version : Is Wick Growing or Dying?
I ran across this article on the org, dated December 2005:-
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"Describing Wick In A Few Years Time:-
One of the busiest bustling towns in the north of Scotland sitting on a large busy harbour incorporating a complex of marina and leisure facilities. Over the years wick has become a magnet for shopping from all over the north and attracts a growing number of people to work in the increasing number of firms moving to Caithness to take advantage of living in the far north of the Highlands. Wick with its unique transport connections of rail, sea and air put in a strong position to attract firms that need to be able to get in and out quickly and the fact that Broadband has been in place for sometime means that communications are excellent for any hi-tech firm who wish to take advantage of a workforce keen to live and work in the area."
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Just wondered what others thought regarding the above statement and the current situation in the town almost five years on? Perhaps I am missing all the "bustling" going on?
Who wrote that fairytale? I'm not seeing any 'bustling' going on anywhere in Caithness. Dying most definitely :~(
riggerboy
11-Jul-10, 14:58
haha good god i needed a laugh and that was it,,,,
I reckon theres probably a fair bit of bustling going on in Wick as in any other town of a similar size anywhere in Britain. Doom and gloom doesnt originate from the environment but from the confines of peoples skulls. personal situations will determine whether someone has an optimistic or a pessemistic outlook regarding their lives and how they project that outlook onto their environment.
In other words, cheer up chaps get involved and stop bloody whining.
I reckon theres probably a fair bit of bustling going on in Wick as in any other town of a similar size anywhere in Britain. Doom and gloom doesnt originate from the environment but from the confines of peoples skulls. personal situations will determine whether someone has an optimistic or a pessemistic outlook regarding their lives and how they project that outlook onto their environment.
In other words, cheer up chaps get involved and stop bloody whining.
Just asking whether the article was accurate or not. If you think it was, perhaps you could explain why, rather than having a bloody good moan yourself!!
Just asking whether the article was accurate or not. If you think it was, perhaps you could explain why, rather than having a bloody good moan yourself!!
Moanings infectious.
Yes the article is accurate.
How many firms have opened up and continued to meet their sales targets? And how many have closed down?
How much money is the marina bringing into the county?
if that transport minister has his way, how will the county cope when the air link is gone? remember that will affect Inverness as well as Wick, so to go anywhere will mean a 5 hour drive south before you get to an airport
telfordstar
11-Jul-10, 20:14
Yes it's accurate for then, but not for now
It's definitely dying.
It could also be improved somewhat in many an area. There seems to be more houses going up for rent/sale towards that area as of late.
Yes the article is accurate.
Care to elaborate?
Wick should be growing. Just from personal experience there are more peeps moving into the area than away.
So why are the shops suffering so much? I guess the same as everywhere else. Shopping on line.
When I worked in a shop in Wick and tried to promote our wares around the county I was surprised how many people said they didn't shop in Wick.
A variety of reasons:
Snobbery-I can't get the quality I demand in Wick
Ignorance- I didn't know there was a shop in Wick that sold......
Fashion-you can't get stuff for young people in Wick
My suggestions for improving for what they are worth, Wick needs promoting locally. There are plenty of people in the county to support a small shopping centre like Wick but the shops have to be there. We need the organisations that are tasked with this to pull their fingers out (and there are several).
This is all I can find: http://www.caithnesschamber.com/news/index.asp?Article=1010
"They are seeking to update the findings of a wide-ranging study carried out for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise in 2007 to produce a targeted action plan".
So presumably nothing was done with findings in 2007 :eek:
This is always the problem, loads of expensive people talking and no one doing! :roll:
Care to elaborate?
I'm not going to elaborate on the article because the article cant be taken in isolation. There are other factors to consider non less than the psychology of those who have an opinion. I choose to see Wick as a vibrant and welcoming town with a local base. People go about their business, if they are fortunate enough to have work, or if they havnt they still have to make meaning of their circumstances and get on with it.
Its the same in Thurso. Ive spent most of my life in Thurso apart from my travelling years when I got on the train or hit the road with a bag of tools and found work.
There was a time I thought Thurso was dying and thought Wick was dead. I choose not to judge places or people by my own particular circumstances any more.
Wick is not dying. Peoples circumstances are changing and there's a lot of uncertainty around.
My point is we have to look behind our noses to discover why Wick is percieved as dying.
I'm aware the future is uncertain but was it ever different? I agree with ducati about local promoting. Small communities have a better chance of looking at their lot and especially Wick with it's local base.
The problem is, human relations are much more complex than our present systems allow for. Politics is corrupt and backroom deals appear to be as significant today as they were centuries ago.
Those are just a small part of the problems we face as a comunity so for me to try and elaborate on your original post is nothing short of a drop in the ocean.
PS. I'm off to Wick this morning for a £2.99 breakfast ooto Spoons and coffee with my old mate Tighsonas.
This is always the problem, loads of expensive people talking and no one doing! :roll:
I totally agree! I have friends tho who like the Caithness Chamber of Commerce so mibbe I am doing them down as I have no experience of them myself.
coffee with my old mate Tighsonas.
What could be more inspiring than a chat wi Tigh?!!!
Tubthumper
12-Jul-10, 11:43
Wick, like Caithness (and a whole load of other isolated bits of Britain) is both dying and growing. The 'old' is dying away as the old generation seem unable to let the old things go or start anything new, while young folk and new arrivals have little affinity with or interest in keeping alive 'old' stuff. But the potential for growth is there, as our population isn't shrinking.
Maybe rather than endlessly dwelling on 'The place is dying, oh dear!' and 'Back in 'e day', why don't we discuss what we (the owld farts and the young/ new guys, whether 'local' or new arrival) actually want, and more importantly, need?
How about a Macdonalds, Pizza-Hut, Burger King or KFC Franchise?
But would people end up on here moaning about where it was to be sited or how their grub was cold...
Perish the thought Tubthumper, just think of all that extra take away packaging covering the landscape and folk would no longer have the exuse that they have to go to Inverness for their treats!
Tighsonas4
12-Jul-10, 17:32
I totally agree! I have friends tho who like the Caithness Chamber of Commerce so mibbe I am doing them down as I have no experience of them myself.
What could be more inspiring than a chat wi Tigh?!!!
canna get my head out the door now lol tony [lol]
Aaldtimer
12-Jul-10, 17:45
Bloomin' heck Tubs!!..."How about a Macdonalds, Pizza-Hut, Burger King or KFC Franchise?"...have you seen the level of obesity in the county?
Tubthumper
12-Jul-10, 17:56
Bloomin' heck Tubs!!..."How about a Macdonalds, Pizza-Hut, Burger King or KFC Franchise?"...have you seen the level of obesity in the county?
You're right, but it was just a first suggestion. What do the young guys actually want? What do YOU actually want, AT?
Maybe a well-appointed sports complex or two would be good...;)
Tubs, I despair. You have totally lost the plot. You think that opening up more takeaways is the answer to improving our infrastruture and providing decent jobs for the town? We've got plenty of takeaways as it is, where the shops used to be.
Aaldtimer
12-Jul-10, 19:48
Tubs, what do I wan't? Well I live in Thurso and at my age and condition of health a new pair of legs might be good, then I could make some use of your most excellent second suggestion..."Maybe a well-appointed sports complex or two would be good"...:)
Bring back smoking in pubs and return them to the hubs of activity they once were!;)
Bring back the tawse and knock some discipline into our kids!:eek:
I'm not going to elaborate on the article because the article cant be taken in isolation. There are other factors to consider non less than the psychology of those who have an opinion. I choose to see Wick as a vibrant and welcoming town with a local base. People go about their business, if they are fortunate enough to have work, or if they havnt they still have to make meaning of their circumstances and get on with it.
Its the same in Thurso. Ive spent most of my life in Thurso apart from my travelling years when I got on the train or hit the road with a bag of tools and found work.
There was a time I thought Thurso was dying and thought Wick was dead. I choose not to judge places or people by my own particular circumstances any more.
Wick is not dying. Peoples circumstances are changing and there's a lot of uncertainty around.
My point is we have to look behind our noses to discover why Wick is percieved as dying.
I'm aware the future is uncertain but was it ever different? I agree with ducati about local promoting. Small communities have a better chance of looking at their lot and especially Wick with it's local base.
The problem is, human relations are much more complex than our present systems allow for. Politics is corrupt and backroom deals appear to be as significant today as they were centuries ago.
Those are just a small part of the problems we face as a comunity so for me to try and elaborate on your original post is nothing short of a drop in the ocean.
PS. I'm off to Wick this morning for a £2.99 breakfast ooto Spoons and coffee with my old mate Tighsonas.
I did start this thread off with the article as the main focus. I saw the article as not so much "rose-tinted" in its forecast, more "out of your tits on magic mushrooms" in its optimism.
Of course people look at anything from their own perspective and that is perfectly fine. My point would be that if the town is in as good a shape as the article would suggest then nobody needs to get off their arse (as has been alluded to) to fix it. I am trying to imagine it from the viewpoint of an outsider visiting the town. Had a tourist read the "blurb" and come to Wick on the heads of it, I think they would be a bit surprised after taking a walk around the town centre, if not calling for their money back under the trade's description clause.
Much was made of Tesco actually bringing MORE trade to the town centre, when the reverse seems to have clearly been the case. The hunger for more fast food outlets to bring prosperity to the town is misplaced in my opinion. People talk about being positive but it is hard to think that way when you see boarded up premises. Perhaps if we could see some signs of true growth it would be easier to feel enthusiastic.
Anyway, each to their own.
Tubthumper
12-Jul-10, 20:47
...The hunger for more fast food outlets to bring prosperity to the town is misplaced in my opinion.
I was being kind of ironic; one of the things I encounter when on a trip south with small & smellies of any form or age is a gormless desire to visit 'Macdonalds'. Don't ask me why.
But I do wonder if anyone has ever truly researched what would make the place 'better' from a yoof perspective. And for that matter, although there's been tons of work done, I can't remember anyone ever asking me what I think would 'make the place better'.
I found your idea of 'mushrooms and bits' interesting though. If all the druggies in the county are happy to be here, maybe that's the answer!
[No it's not - I've been to Fraserburgh and Peterhead, it's not the answer]
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