View Full Version : Wick will soon be a ghost town
More Wick shops to close shortly...
DE Shoes
Barrats Beads & Crafts
The Sports shop
The event/toy shop
Made in Caithness
Is no-one shopping locally anymore or is the high street just not interesting enough these days??
I don't buy shoes often, but use DE when I do buy. I have no need to buy sports wear, or toys, and I make a lot of the things I could have bought in the Made in Caithness shop. I internet shop for fabrics, as it's a much cheaper option for me.
shame shops are closing down ,but i for one cant find what i want in wick so i shop on line
MerlinScot
20-Mar-13, 14:13
I noticed that too. We used to shop in Wick but now...we just go to Tesco and we don't stop in the centre anymore. Sad.
secretsquirrel
20-Mar-13, 14:58
I am sorry to see shops go but lets be honest it's about the shopping experience. If shops are hidden away, not pleasant placve to shop in, staff do not care, not actually selling what people want at a price they are willing to pay then this is the result. Of course people like to park their cars next to the shop door.
picturegifts
20-Mar-13, 15:34
What do you mean "..soon.."? It is a ghost town already
It happening all over,not just in Wick,Internet shopping is sometimes cheaper and easier,plus you don't have the annoyance of having to deal with some of the terrible customer service there us in this county....sad....but true in a lot of shops :( x
It is sad that is true. But it's a sign of the times, like religion, they don't move with the times. Natural selection.
We all feed it so we can't complain about it!
Angel...
barrets beads and craft was to dear , and made in caithness made a mistake when they moved to the new shop as people do not go down that far , well i do not very often
Apparently theres another closing in the high street soon, the little clothes shop next to the cafe? mates wife mentioned it earlier today. Thought the lass was doing well in there too
and graham beggs had gone as well
Popped into Birons today after trying the craft shops(thought glue sticks were more craft than ironmongery but was wrong) for hot gluegun sticks and got them no bother!
And they have good customer service..if not in stock they will order stuff in for you!
But oilcloth in patterns I like is proving more troublesome to find locally.....that will be an online buy by the look of things.
Had a wee browse round the centre of the town too...but cant really remember the last time I had the time to just browse.
Useually its a quick grab/trolley dash ..pay as quick as possible and run to pick up /drop off kids type of shop.....
Wick is not the only small community that is suffering. Even in the Beeg city of Edinburgh this syndrom is occurring, places such as Leith, there are small old established shops closing on a weekly basis, Leith is wedged between an Asda to the west and a Tesco to the east. Many other communities in Auld Reekie are suffering, Portobello, Granton, Gorgie to name a few. Wee shops cannot compete with the shopping parks such as Kinnaird Park to the east, Straiton to the south and the Gyle to the west, these places are killing our wee communities.
Neil Howie
21-Mar-13, 00:38
But these steps don't go far enough, some experts say, in light of a forecast last month that 90 percent of retail sales growth in Britain, France and Germany between 2012 and 2016, or 91.5 billion euros, is expected to be online, according to the property arm of French insurer AXA , which manages 43 billion euros of assets.
As well as changing what's inside, mall owners will need to borrow ideas from developing markets like Dubai and China where centres are part of wider mixed-use developments where people live or include open spaces where they spend leisure time, Roberts said.
"Convenience and Internet shopping has created a breakdown in community structures and there's a gap there waiting to be filled," he said.
from yahoo (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/malls-must-move-beyond-shopping-survive-internet-era-095548424--sector.html#mboSE29)
lesley_mac
21-Mar-13, 01:22
if wick becomes a ghost town WHO YOU GOING TO CALL THE GHOST BUSTERS
Lets face it Wick town centre is a hole and has been since Wick began.
pig whisperer
21-Mar-13, 11:25
Wick seemed to be picking up with some smart shops & now it seems to be going down again, Of course we will have a lovely shiney new council building [at a snip, was it £80 mil] [ & looks like a sixties throwback ]
Alice in Blunderland
21-Mar-13, 12:13
I would not say Wick would be a ghost town however it will have to change and move with the times.
As time is moving on everything is changing everything is being conducted on a different level from years ago. The way we work, rest and play has all changed and will continue to change.
The latest run of shops closing will continue, I have said and will say again by the time the council offices come back to the town centre it will not be anywhere near the same hub it was when they left.
The great charrette may be heralded a success or not by whatever standards you wish to apply but what has it achieved in the short term for the local businesses............nothing. Indeed if I were a local hotelier, shopkeeper or restaurant owner I would be very anxious about the proposals from the charrette.
http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2ED23BF7-AFF6-44AE-867D-13785D250E77/0/WICKbroadsheetLores.pdf
Take a look for yourself at the proposals ( I know these are all just proposals as in a nice dream )..... a new restaurant right across from the french restaurant. A new hotel on the water front when the Norseman is already in the middle of redeveloping and modernising its hotel. A new shopping area linking to the High Street which by this time will be devoid of everything excepts pubs to drown your sorrows over where it all went wrong and how it used to be oh and of course the all new council offices in the middle of the now deathly quiet town centre. Its all looking good on paper but there needs to be some small basic steps first!
Tesco and all the other major retail outlets are not the main reason that town centres are in decline. Its the changing shopping habits of the public that are. We are lazier, we like to park at the door, we are more demanding, we know what we want and we wont accept anything less. Grasping this and redeveloping accordingly is one way to proceed and if that means raising your game rooting the shops from the town centre out beside the larger stores ( Caithness Glass would make a smashing indoor local shops outlet ) to capture the market and redeveloping the town centre in a different direction then that may be the only way forward. :D
< Ducking now for incoming emails ;) >
rob murray
21-Mar-13, 15:07
The great charrette : great ideas, but thats all they are : look closer...a lot of things suggested needs public funding, which are scarce : in a weak local economy private sector wont invest, but who would use the facilities suggested anyway ? Shop closures hits jobs, shop closed, jobs close : factor in UKAEA run down with first large scale lay offs planned for c 2017 /18 ( 5 years away ) and what will Wick be like then ? Oh Ive just woken up, Wick will be a renewables hub.....don't fall for that, renewables related activities are cloaked in smoke and mirrors, Wick may get a few support jobs in assembly / transporting wind turbines but not a lot : the infrastructure for making turbines / assembly etc is already at Nigg : Wick will get scraps. As for the Pentland Firth developments : dont look for anything until mid 2014, and then any work will be largely Scrabster based. Im afraid I only see a very,very bleak future for Wick.
rob murray
21-Mar-13, 15:21
Also seeing as how Im either on a downer or seeing the world as it is, I may add the following to the tale of woe
1 Complete demise of fishing / fishing infrastructure and related jobs
2 Loss of Civil Service based Jobs caused by merging departments etc
3 On going job cuts in public sector services
I wonder who will be partaking of the services in the great charrette ? Or is the point to create a tourism attraction ? Live of the tourist pound ?
rob murray
21-Mar-13, 15:30
Also seeing as how Im either on a downer or seeing the world as it is, I may add the following to the tale of woe
1 Complete demise of fishing / fishing infrastructure and related jobs
2 Loss of Civil Service based Jobs caused by merging departments etc
3 On going job cuts in public sector services
I wonder who will be partaking of the services in the great charrette ? Or is the point to create a tourism attraction ? Live of the tourist pound ?
See below ;
Malcolm MacLeod was addressing objectors’ concerns to a plan to establish a triple wind farm development off the Caithness coast and also suggested that the jobs created, could be regarded as compensation for the loss of scenery.
Mr MacLeod, Highland Council’s head of planning and building standards, was commenting, on a consultation request from the Scottish Government’s Marine Scotland division to an application it has received from Moray Offshore Renewables (MORL) Ltd, along with 10 objections. It wants to construct three farms, named Stevenson, Telford and McColl, 22 kms off the south-east coast of Caithness.
The development has generated 10 objections from salmon fishery interests, bird guardians, the RSPB, and two MSPs, among others, to the company’s enterprise.
Fears the towering structures could adversely impinge on the far north’s tourism trade, have been acknowledged in Mr MacLeod’s report which will be considered by the North Planning Applications Committee , tomorrow.
Technical reasons make it difficult to be precise about the number and dimensions of the turbines, at this stage, but they could range from 189 in number to, 204 metres high, to 339 turbines 162m in height. They will take six years to build and will be capable of producing 1.5GW.
The project might run into troubled waters, however, if opponents of the development, backed by MSPs Kevin Stewart and Rob Gibson manage to persuade councillors to lodge an objection.
The objectors argue that the turbines will have an adverse impact on marine life and salmon and tourism interests and cite potential problems with noise and the visual experience, as well as posing a safety threat for workers. They question whether the financial return will be adequate and point to other alternatives such as wave power.
I'm not surprised that the "sport shop" is to close, I went in once to buy my son a new football top and we were going to use his East End Boys Club membership card to get the 10% off only to be told by the owner that there was not no margin on football tops and the membership card was not valid on football tops. A few weeks later the subject cropped up at the East End football and I was told by one of the committee members that discount was supposed to be valid on all items from the shop! He may have diddle me for £3-4 pounds but it was the last penny he will ever get from me. REAP WHAT YOU SOW!
sigh, yet another thread hijacked by the wind farm crap......
secrets in symmetry
22-Mar-13, 01:08
Oh Ye of little faith! The soul of Wick will live on as long as there is still the place that is the Camps. :cool:
Oh Ye of little faith! The soul of Wick will live on as long as there is still the place that is the Camps. :cool:
So true!
I am desperately trying to engineer a reason to get in a visit to Camps!
REAP WHAT YOU SOW!'Tis so true. In the correct aspect.
Across the whole of the UK the same can be seen. The usual hypocrisy of bone idle laziness coupled with internet retardedness "It must be cheap 'cos it's on the internet".
Reap what you so! If you don't use your High St it will go, simples! But just consider the likes of Comet, with their 'Online' presence and 'internet' only prices, where are they now!
Last summer we needed a Dishwasher and we needed it now. After a few calls and lots of tinterwebbing, I collected from Beggs in Wick the same afternoon a dishwasher that would take a week to deliver from the 'web'. Only for £9 more!
Think about that. £9 extra to get it now, local, from a shop on your High St.
However I have to say, I am seeing a future in the High Street. But by those are pro active.
And I will no longer use the likes of Amazon. It's no good bitching about the state of the economy whilst you are complicit with tax evading criminals.
rob murray
22-Mar-13, 14:06
sigh, yet another thread hijacked by the wind farm crap......
The thread is Wick will soon be a ghost town : the promise is renewables jobs ....wheres the hi jack ?
i once went ot graham beggs for a washing machine the same one was nearly £100 cheaper in co op , i asked if graham begg could better his price as i wanted to shop local and was told by him if i could get it cheaper then go else where so i did and have never been in the shop again
secrets in symmetry
23-Mar-13, 01:50
So true!
I am desperately trying to engineer a reason to get in a visit to Camps!You don't need a reason to visit the Camps - just do it, and maybe regret it later! :cool:
Even I will admit there are times when the Camps isn't what's needed - in which case one must visit either Mackays or the Blackstairs...
The lady that runs the latter will always brighten up your day, even though I have somehow temporarily forgotten her name....
just do it, and maybe regret it later!Never regretted it!
Even I will admit there are times when the Camps isn't what's needed - in which case one must visit either Mackays or the Blackstairs...
The lady that runs the latter will always brighten up your day, even though I have somehow temporarily forgotten her name....
It's "Darling."
Rob, the thread is based on the point that shops are closing, not that theres going to be a wind farm off the coast and i personally dont think Wick will receive any work nor a single penny from the wind farm
I am desperately trying to engineer a reason to get in a visit to Camps!
You're thirsty.
secrets in symmetry
23-Mar-13, 12:24
Never regretted it!Not even when you wake up on the morning after, and try to remember what you sang the night before?
It's "Darling."Lol! I imagine she'd give me a big smile at that!
I remembered her name as I finished posting....
Significant economic benefits are coming to Wick. If the antiwind brigade had their way then Wick could become a ghost town.
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/Moray-Firth-developer-pressed-on-wind-farm-jobs-claims-19032013.htm
Significant economic benefits are coming to Wick. If the antiwind brigade had their way then Wick could become a ghost town.
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/Moray-Firth-developer-pressed-on-wind-farm-jobs-claims-19032013.htm
How much economic benefit? Er...some. That's OK then, on yer go!
Mystical Potato Head
23-Mar-13, 17:22
Significant economic benefits are coming to Wick. If the antiwind brigade had their way then Wick could become a ghost town.
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/Moray-Firth-developer-pressed-on-wind-farm-jobs-claims-19032013.htm
.You have no idea how many jobs are going to be created or what the benefits are..Craig Milroy wouldnt commit to the number of jobs that would be created in Caithness.Milroy said it was too early to make commitments in the Wick area but you seem to know more.
"In the Wick area it is too early to make commitments but we would anticipate there will be significant opportunities once we fully understand how we are going to construct it,” he said.
Anticipating significant opportunities isnt dealing with actual facts either.
But Mr Mackay called on MORL to say how many Caithness people it expected to employ during construction.
“How much will come to Wick Harbour and Scrabster?,” said the Thurso member. “I would like to know about how much are they going to employ locally before I decide.”
Mr Fernie, one of Wick’s councillors, predicted Caithness and the Highlands could reap substantial economic rewards.
“It has significant potential for development and the whole of the Highlands, particularly the east coast, could benefit,” he said.
“If works are to actually flow to Wick there will be opportunities where they are looking to places like Wick Harbour and all the sub-contractors which are likely to flow from that.”
All i'm seeing here are ifs and unanswered questions. "Significant potential" "could benefit"and "If works are to actually flow to Wick" are not facts.There have been no answers given to the significant questions that Mr Mackay asked so at this moment in time you cannot factually back up your statement that Significant economic benefits are coming to Wick.
I hope there are economic benefits coming into the county but right now there is no proof that work will flow to Wick and if it does how many jobs will result from it.
Significant economic benefits COULD be coming to Wick.Now that is telling the truth.
How much economic benefit? Er...some. That's OK then, on yer go!
The adjective used in the article was significant.
Hello, Just to clarify Wick Sports Shop is not closing down. This is the first that we have heard of it, but apparently the rumour is rife around the town, hence the need for us to post that we are not closing. Have just received new stock for Spring and Summer and having placed orders for football, rugby and swimming gear, its business as usual!
I thought I saw a tumble weed skirling down Bridge Street.... Ghost town is a term that's too easy to trot out. The place where you live is more than a centre for retail therapy it's about people and community and necessary as they are it doesn't have to revolve around shops.
The pharmaceutical industry is thriving here.
I'm not surprised that the "sport shop" is to close, I went in once to buy my son a new football top and we were going to use his East End Boys Club membership card to get the 10% off only to be told by the owner that there was not no margin on football tops and the membership card was not valid on football tops. A few weeks later the subject cropped up at the East End football and I was told by one of the committee members that discount was supposed to be valid on all items from the shop! He may have diddle me for £3-4 pounds but it was the last penny he will ever get from me. REAP WHAT YOU SOW!
With regards to your comment, we respond as follows; It is made very clear to the East End Boys Football Club that a 10% discount is allowed to each team member and is given on all applicable goods excluding licenced goods. I have contacted an East End Football Committee member to clarify their understanding of the discount scheme, which has not been altered in any way since the previous owners of the shop, who also ran the scheme. We have sent a letter to East End Football Club stating the terms and conditions of the discount scheme. The discount scheme is done, by ourselves, as a goodwill gesture to help the youths in the club. Should you require any further assistance or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us in The Sports Shop.
radiohead
28-Mar-13, 01:29
Wick Town Centre is a copy of those up and down the UK. A few small shops, many take-aways and a collection of charity shops and drinking establishments. All that is missing is a row of Ramsdens/Cash Converters!!!!
secrets in symmetry
29-Mar-13, 23:46
Nonsense! Well, ok, you're sort of right, but Wick doesn't have a Macdonalds, a Burger King or a KFC - which makes it special. :cool:
I may be slightly off point here.. :confused but this thread is about Wick becoming a "ghost town". No-one wants to see this obviously, but yet, everyone admits having no intention to shop local?
We can't shop online and still expect to have a thriving high street! Things may be a little more expensive, but surely its worth it to see people doing well in our area?
...Maybe next time we are about to feed money into a corporate machine, we should consider our friends and locals on our high street?
its all good and well saying help the locals but when you can buy stuff online, same quality and with postage included, cheaper than you can buy local, then local shops are not going to do well at all. I did ask one local shop if he could do a bit of a discount and mentioning its a lot cheaper online but i dont mind paying a bit more if i can have it now and was told in no uncertain terms to "FFFF off then and go buy it online".....not the way to keep customers nor do business locally. his loss though as i won't be in there again.
Surely buying in tesco, homebase, Argos etc is shopping local?
I've heard Tescos and the new shops on the south road being blamed for the demise. I think it has more to do with internet shopping. The net has changed the face of so many things forever. Even people's social lives seem to evolve around the mighty computer. And I'm as guilty as anyone!
I wouldn't necessarily classify Tesco, Argos and Homebase etc as local, considering they are a multi-national company and have stores across the UK..
I think, yeah, it may be slightly more expensive - but the big companies such as Tesco, can afford to make things cheaper due to the volume of products they make money from. Personally, I'd rather pay that little extra - especially when it comes to food! Caithness Biscuits, Grahams Milk.. even if you are shopping in Tesco i think its important to support to local suppliers too!
I wouldn't necessarily classify Tesco, Argos and Homebase etc as local, considering they are a multi-national company and have stores across the UK..
I think, yeah, it may be slightly more expensive - but the big companies such as Tesco, can afford to make things cheaper due to the volume of products they make money from. Personally, I'd rather pay that little extra - especially when it comes to food! Caithness Biscuits, Grahams Milk.. even if you are shopping in Tesco i think its important to support to local suppliers too!
If a business that has a shop front in your home town isnt local then I dont know what is?
So once a business becoms succsessful and expands we should remove our support of them?
Same goes for Lidl, CooP, Boots, Superdrug, Wetherspoons and the Indian (in the old Carters bar) to name but a few.
.. So you're suggesting shopping in Tesco is supporting your local businesses and shop owners? *baffled*
.. So you're suggesting shopping in Tesco is supporting your local businesses and shop owners? *baffled*
Tesco is a local shop, and probably one of the more sizeable employers in Wick.
Tesco is a local shop
I would say it is a multi-national corporation rather than a local shop. A local shop is one thats been opened by a local person, some many years ago and been trading succesfully until the likes of Tesco opened up. The internet was the final nail in the coffin. Oh and no doubt Tesco is employing those that were made jobless when local shops shut because of them opening up here.....??
So... "the first Tesco store opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Middlesex".... Is it OK to shop at Tesco if you live in Burnt Oak?
Or.... "headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom".... maybe you now have to live in Cheshunt to legitimately shop at Tesco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco
cptdodger
01-Apr-13, 19:41
I would say it is a multi-national corporation rather than a local shop. A local shop is one thats been opened by a local person, some many years ago and been trading succesfully until the likes of Tesco opened up. The internet was the final nail in the coffin. Oh and no doubt Tesco is employing those that were made jobless when local shops shut because of them opening up here.....??
Just before I moved from Dundee to here, one of the Tesco's in Dundee (Lochee) was closing to move to another location, and also into a bigger store. This was when Woolworths closed. Tesco employed all the Woolworths staff (that wanted to work for them) that had lost their jobs, in their new store. Tesco is a multi national corporation now, but it certainly was'nt when it was started by the late Jack Cohen many years ago.
if the goverment want little local shops to survive they should cut the rates and rent of some of the shop its the overheads that are crippling small towns
orkneycadian
01-Apr-13, 20:05
I noticed that too. We used to shop in Wick but now...we just go to Tesco and we don't stop in the centre anymore. Sad.
Wasn't this predicted on here a few years ago?
I would say it is a multi-national corporation rather than a local shop. A local shop is one thats been opened by a local person, some many years ago and been trading succesfully until the likes of Tesco opened up. The internet was the final nail in the coffin. Oh and no doubt Tesco is employing those that were made jobless when local shops shut because of them opening up here.....??Tesco is a huge success story, yet they are demonised these days largely due to their success.It is not the fault of tesco if they have superior buying power and can afford to price out the competition.In my book the definition of a local store, is a store that is local to you, regardless of how many other stores they may operate.
Tesco is a huge success story, yet they are demonised these days largely due to their success.It is not the fault of tesco if they have superior buying power and can afford to price out the competition.In my book the definition of a local store, is a store that is local to you, regardless of how many other stores they may operate.
I think you are missing the point here. The thread is called "Wick will soon be a ghost town" - what do you think is one of the main causes of that..? :confused ...Literally, yes Tesco is geographically local - but thats not the point. Its not a small local business set up by local people. Its those businesses we need to be supporting the most. Tesco doesn't need that support to suceed.
Honestly, Wick will be a ghost town unless it gets to grips with the changing face of modern dietry needs. Nobody in Wick knew what miso was so I was forced to buy it online.
I think you are missing the point here. The thread is called "Wick will soon be a ghost town" - what do you think is one of the main causes of that..? :confused ...Literally, yes Tesco is geographically local - but thats not the point. Its not a small local business set up by local people. Its those businesses we need to be supporting the most. Tesco doesn't need that support to suceed.Which would you rather see, tesco close die to lack of trade and all the workers are on the dole queue, or a couple of overpriced local firms close due to lack of trade and a couple of folk are on the dole queue?So for a Wick firm to be considered local it has to be a) small and b) set up by a wicker?
You and the two kids need to get some shopping and a few other items but without leaving the confines of Wick and using local stores as defined by wiseowl below.
You need the following:
Newspapers
Rice cakes
A cooked chicken
Mince
Tatties
Turnip
Frozen veg
Oatmeal stuffing
Nappies
Sudo cream
Bedlinen
Towels
Wireless router
What shops do you go to to get the line?
Alice in Blunderland
02-Apr-13, 11:37
You and the two kids need to get some shopping and a few other items but without leaving the confines of Wick and using local stores as defined by wiseowl below.
You need the following:
Newspapers
got a choice there depending on which side of the town you live there is local grocer shops in Glamis Road another one in Girnigoe St and two just round from the PPP building
Rice cakes
Again all those grocer shops sell both papers as well as groceries so I would hazzard a guess you could ask there for them also.
A cooked chicken
Buy a fresh one from the butchers and cook it yourself you know what you get then ;)
Mince
butchers you have a choice
Tatties
butchers or grocers you have a choice
Turnip
butchers or any of the afore mentioned grocer shops either end of the town
Frozen veg
from any of the local grocers or the butchers but I would guess that the more likely would be the grocers.
Oatmeal stuffing
butchers
Nappies
chemists theres a choice of more than one also the grocer shops
Sudo cream
Same choice as nappies
Bedlinen
trickier but I would bet you anything Sam would have some for you if not I garuantee you tomorrow if he thought there was a pound to be had he would get them for you ;)
Towels
Again Sam and believe it or not one of the grocer shops
Wireless router
theres a lovely helpful computer shop beside the backer
What shops do you go to to get the line?
After all your shopping you could pop into the backer or any of the local pubs there are and toast your success.
Also think of the healthy excercise by walking around the lovely town doing your shopping.
Also think of the healthy excercise by walking around the lovely town doing your shopping.
I was refering to Wick not Thurso
I didnt want a fesh chicken, I want a nice hot cooked chicken.
Alice in Blunderland
02-Apr-13, 12:01
I was refering to Wick not Thurso
I didnt want a fesh chicken, I want a nice hot cooked chicken.
I was also referring to Wick and NOT Thurso as the title of the thread already suggests . As for the cooked chicken Im sure the Butchers will stick it in the oven for you after all they do sell cooked pies. As with everything its about service provision if the customer requests then its in the shops best interests to try to provide. :D
You also have to look at cost though. How much do all these things cost at Tesco or at a local shop? That might be a reason why tesco is as popular
Indeed, I was getting to that.
Also how much of the town do you need to trapse over to get your stuff, lugging all the stuff bought elsewhere with you.
Perhaps some nice Wicker could carry on with the reseach and price it all up in the local shops and then at the local Tesco, good idea to time yourself also.
An interesting thread while looking for something else.
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