Friday, April 19, 2013

High Street News

The former Yorkshire Building Society office has a new tenant. The Richmond Fellowship have flitted from Harbour Street and headed uptown. 


The Gurn understands too that the Victoria Hotel will reopen tomorrow. No further information at present apart from a dress code poster in one of the windows. 


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pity they can't spell!

Graisg said...

Spelling mistakes aside, it is good to see another premises adjoining the High Street back in action.

Anonymous said...

I wish both well

I also hope someone donates a tin of paint to the Richmond Fellowship to spruce up the front of their new premises, as it looks...how can I put this politely ?

How about 'keek'.

Believe the shop front improvement scheme grant money is still available, if they want to save themselves 50% of the cost of a wee brighten up.

Anonymous said...

Do them a favour, dont take the "P", well maybe take it but wish them well !

Anonymous said...

Do them a favour, dont take the "P", well maybe take it but wish them well !

Anonymous said...

so the improvement grant scheme is still available,does that mean,what narook often states,there is money for the projected clock on high st

Spurtle said...

As far as I am aware , the money set aside for the shop front scheme is still available, if you can satisfy the qualification criteria...and there lies the problem.

When the Scottish Office Reporter made the decision about Sainsbury's having to make a cash contribution to help improve the High Street, to offset the potential impact that the out of town store would likely have on town centre shops, the Highland Council were in like a flash with "we must administer these funds".

Some of the projects which met with Sainsbury's approval ( yes, they got a say in where it was spent) were: the shop front grants, new information boards, the rather ethereal projecting clock idea and a scheme to bring the High Street lighting up to the same standard as that on the Brae.

Sufficient to say that the notice boards, clock & lighting improvements seem to be mainly noticeable by their absence.

And, as is the way with public bodies , the application process for the shop front scheme ended up being so complicated and obstacle strewn that only a few determined and hardy souls , adept at form filling, being in possession of the title deeds to their property going back to James 6th and able to present themselves at the Court House with all living Great Grandparents in attendance, were successful in applying.

Some people looked at the mechanics of it and thought "I'll not bother" & just got on and did it without the grant. Others never even bothered to let the concept of presenting a bright, clean and tidy shop front, flash across their consciousness for a nano-second.

So where are we now?

Well, as I see it, Sainsbury's were contractually bound to give monies to NAIRN to be spent on improving some aspects of NAIRN town centre.

Now I wouldn't for one second suggest that there has been any other than the highest standards applied by our Council in trying their utmost to ensure that this money, if not spent as originally intended, at least gets spent in Nairn....but , of course, others may not share my optimistic outlook.

However, I would suggest that the very first people that should be asked as to where the money has been spent (or more pertinently, where it's likely to be spent) would be our elected Councillors.

Questions have to be asked, and soon, or it'll be buying a bus ticket to Inverness & that’ll be the last we’ll see of it.

top hat and tails said...

It's about time some establishments smarted up their staff

Graisg said...

@ jimrustles, agreed but we'd better not say that :-)