Caithness CWS - A to Z of Caithness Places - Wick - Telford Street

Telford Street is being rebuilt on one side in a development to see 16 new houses as part of a project run by Pentland Housing.
the project is part of a larger re-development of lower Pulteney.
The Telford Street project runs round into Miller Street and the old NOSWA building has been demolished and is being replaced with new houses.

12 March 05
Telford Street Project Wins Award For Quality & Planning
The Telford St Development Lower Pulteneytown, yesterday won the Award for Outstanding Performance and Quality in Development on the Ground. This is a tremendous achievement and reflects the level of community involvement in the whole project from the workings of the Wick Project to the involvement of the Wick Youth club.

The judges comments were, "We visited Lower Pulteneytown and were extremely impressed with the design quality of this project. The nominees demonstrated clear vision and had planned what they wanted to achieve in Lower Pulteneytown before finance was secured. They displayed good communication links with stakeholders and we recognise that the proposals were delivered on time. The project has raised awareness of what can be achieved and has given hope to the community that other parts of the area can be regenerated in this way. We wish them every success in their wider regeneration projects in Lower Pulteneytown. Due to the outstanding quality of design, details, vision and community and stakeholder working, an Award is recommended."

20 May 04
WICK HERITAGE HOMES UNVEILED AND COMMUNITY ART CELEBRATED
Click Here for More Information About The Telford Street Project

BBC Radio Scotland presenter Lesley Riddoch will tomorrow (Friday 21 May 2004) officially open a joint housing and community arts development in Lower Pulteneytown, Wick.

The �1.5 million project, supported by Executive agency Communities Scotland has provided 16 new affordable homes for the town enhanced by a community arts project. This transformed the former herring gutting and curing houses of Telford and Miller Streets, which had lain derelict. The buildings were made famous by Scots engineer, Thomas Telford who created the model town, harbour and the world�s first industrial estate in Wick in 1811.

Pentland Housing Association developed the houses, as part of the Lower Pulteneytown Regeneration Programme, with funding of over �960,000 from Communities Scotland. Additional funding of almost �400,000 came from the Lower Pulteneytown Townscape Heritage Initiative; �38,000 was raised by a consortium to fund a new electricity substation to serve the area, and Pentland Housing Association provided the balance of �190,000 through a loan from the Dunfermline Building Society.

At the ceremony the housing development will also receive a �Secured by Design� award from the Northern Constabulary. �Secured by Design� is a national police initiative encouraging the building industry to adopt crime prevention methods at the design stage. Wick community safety officer, Lisa Foulis, will be presenting the award to Pentland Housing Association Chairman, Kenny Green.

The community arts element of the housing development � �New Media Meets Old�- was commissioned by Wick Youth Club and developed by artist, Sue Jane Taylor. This involved local young people in a writer�s workshop, a tin smith workshop and the sourcing of images from the surrounding coastal waters.

Communities Scotland Highlands and Islands area director, David Nicol, said: �This is a significant stage in the regeneration of Lower Pulteneytown and congratulations to all who have worked so hard to bring it to completion. As an Executive agency, Communities Scotland is committed to working in partnership to provide safe, strong communities and the physical improvement of this area will be of benefit to the whole community for many years to come. It will of course also bring much needed new affordable housing to the area.�

Director of Pentland Housing Association, Andi Wakeman, said: �Lower Pulteneytown has long suffered from the dereliction of buildings in this once thriving community. We hope that our scheme will show what can be done to brighten the area while preserving Telford�s original concepts, and will help encourage others to make use of the grants available to improve their homes and businesses. The houses provide much needed affordable rented accommodation, and include larger family houses which are in very short supply. A family resource centre is planned at the back of the site, which will complement the housing and provide a further service to local residents.�

Sue Jane Taylor, lead artist for the Lower Pulteneytown regeneration project, added:
�Successful community public art can be difficult to achieve as not only must there be enthusiasm but also the commitment to follow it through. But I found that the people of Wick are proud of their heritage and want a fresh new start for their town. This exciting project is the first of many to put Wick firmly on the map once again, and not for fish but for innovative public art.�

Following the opening ceremony, Lesley Riddoch will be broadcasting her daily lunchtime show on BBC Radio Scotland live from Wick, between 12 and 2pm from Safeways Car Park at riverside, Wick

The Arts Project At Telford Street
The arts project had three aspects and, using the creative skills of local young people, drew on the town�s history, culture and natural environment for inspiration.

A writer�s workshop looked into past and contemporary Caithness dialect, as well as the writings of well-known authors about the area. Selected quotes, phrases and words have been sandblasted on to Telford and Miller Streets� flagstone walls;
Tin smith workshops using inspiration from the town�s old fish trade enabled templates to be made for punchwork on the copper cladding for the old fish hatches in both streets; and
With the help of the Far North Aqua Club, and a state of the art underwater camera, six 14-25-year-olds trained in deep sea diving and sourced images from under the surrounding coastal waters. Two sites within the building have been selected for projections of the images, with cabling wired up to the local street lighting, a plasma screen and a projector. A large neon light image will also be fixed to the west harbour tower and lit up at special times of year. This aspect of the project has involved a four-month posting of a �new media� artist, and a six-month posting for a trainee to assist with both this project and future community public art projects.

As part of the project a �new media� kit, which includes a high spec computer for video editing and a semi-professional video camera, is now permanently sited at Wick Youth Club for use in future community or individual arts projects.

Funding for the arts project came from Communities Scotland � �26,874; Leader+ � �24,186; Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise � �2,687; New Deal � �1,800; and the Scottish Book Trust � �300.