Kirkwall streets to reopen this week

Orkney Islands Council have confirmed that street closures in the centre of Kirkwall are due to come to an end, this week, as the first stage of the Places and Spaces project reaches completion.

Broad Street, Castle Street and Albert Street have been closed to vehicles whilst major street works were carried out. With new surfacing laid over the last week, the council say that a short time will be required for the surface to cure, with the streets to reopen to traffic on Friday at the latest.

The works are part of the Kirkwall Townscape Heritage Initiative’s (KTHI) Places and Spaces project, which include changes to the area at the bottom of the Strynd and top of Castle Street, as well as providing a new path to the War Memorial on the Kirk Green.

With the initial phase of the project now completed, works will be suspended for the main summer season. Plans are for work to move to the entrance to Victoria Street in the autumn, being suspended again in December for Christmas shopping season.

The Places and Spaces initiative was developed alongside community groups such as the Kirkwall and St Ola Community Council and the Kirkwall BID, who identified key areas of the town where it was felt improvements could be made. According to OIC, proposed improvements were the positively received by the Orkney community during a two-day consultation period, where 68 per cent of those who attended said they supported the proposals, 18 per cent were against and the rest were undecided.

The Kirkwall Townscape Heritage Initiative is a five-year heritage-based grant scheme which seeks to deliver sustainable improvements to the built heritage of the Kirkwall Conservation Area, in an effort to regenerate the centre of Kirkwall for the benefit of local communities and businesses, as well as to attract visitors. The scheme has been running since July 2014 and will conclude in June.