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‘Ghost town’ Dingwall needs fresh life breathed into it





Dingwall High Street.
Dingwall High Street.

A high street should have something for everyone.

Dingwall High Street is vying to attract both locals and North Coast 500 tourists back into the town centre.

What improvements have locals suggested to help put it on the map?

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Locals would like to see the inclusivity and appearance of the high street tidied up.

Hazel Gordon: ‘Better pavements’.Picture: Callum Mackay
Hazel Gordon: ‘Better pavements’.Picture: Callum Mackay

Owner of Alchemist Gallery, Hazel Gordon said: “I would very much like it to have better pavements.”

“They are really uneven and I think it’s noticeable for people with less mobility.”

“People with power assisted wheelchairs have said they’ve found the pavements really difficult.”

Andrew Downie: ‘Gutters and buildings need looked at.’
Andrew Downie: ‘Gutters and buildings need looked at.’

Andrew Downie, who runs the Sports & Model shop, said: “A lot of the gutters and buildings need looked at.”

“You’ll notice a lot of the gutters are full of trees, bushes, plants and so on.”

“It’s not easy, Especially with a lot of the seagulls we’ve got all around. They take stuff up and drop it down into the gutters.”

Visitors to Dingwall’s High Street have noted the rise in empty shops over the past few years.

Ken Gordon: ‘Unless a neighbour brings me in, I wouldn’t do it again from choice.’
Ken Gordon: ‘Unless a neighbour brings me in, I wouldn’t do it again from choice.’

Local Ken Gordon said: “Unless a neighbour brings me in, I wouldn’t do it again from choice.”

“The presence of charity shops means that all the other shops have packed up.”

Robert Macleod: ‘Ghost town’.
Robert Macleod: ‘Ghost town’.

Owner of Poster World, Robert Macleod said: “We had the Edinburgh Woollen Mill, the M&Co and the Factory Shop.”

“Ever since they’ve closed down the town has just gone to a ghost town.”

Mr Macleod said he has plans to take over one of the empty lots on the High Street and create a new Viking-themed business for the town. He wants to bring the “culture” and the “tourism back to Dingwall.”

“Dingwall does need something. There’s too many shops closing down.”

Locals want NC500 and other tourism to stop and visit Dingwall High Street rather than simply passing through the town.

Andrew Downie said: “Dingwall itself doesn’t have an actual focal point to bring people in.”

David Duguid: ‘Something is needed to get more people into the town.’
David Duguid: ‘Something is needed to get more people into the town.’

David Duguid, who runs Picaresque Books & Galerie Fantoosh, said: “Something is needed to get more people into the town.”

He suggested utilising Dingwall’s Viking heritage or hydroelectric schemes in appealing to visitors, a view which was supported by others in the town.

Locals have raised the issue of cars blocking the pavements on the High Street.

Ian Stutter: ‘Plenty of parking’.
Ian Stutter: ‘Plenty of parking’.

Local Ian Stutter said: “You’re not far from the supermarket so there’s plenty of parking.”

“There’s no need for people to park along here.”

Others raised similar accessibility concerns on the high street.

Locals wanted to see an improvement to food availability on the High Street.

Ali Kandhro: ‘Food branches like McDonald’s needed’.
Ali Kandhro: ‘Food branches like McDonald’s needed’.

Owner of Fone Fitness, Ali Kandhro said: “The weekends are very quiet here because those who have families and kids prefer to go to Inverness because there is a food franchise there.”

“For small businesses it will benefit if there was food branches like McDonald’s.”

“It will encourage people to stay on weekends.”

He added the shop has had to close on Sundays because “there is literally no one on the High Street.”


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