Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

DIY giant Wickes eyes north-east return with plans for Westhill store

Plans have been lodged for a new Wickes in Westhill - marking the DIY giant's return to the north-east. Image: Ryden/Aberdeenshire Council.
Plans have been lodged for a new Wickes store in Westhill - marking the DIY giant's return to the north-east. Image: Ryden/Aberdeenshire Council.

Home improvement retailer Wickes has unveiled plans to open a new store in Westhill.

Knight Property Group has lodged plans with Aberdeenshire Council to build the retail unit at Arnhall Business Park.

Currently the closest Wickes stores are in Inverness or Dundee.

The DIY retailer previously had a presence on Aberdeen’s Hutcheon Street but it closed after being bought over by Focus Do It All.

This picture from our archives shows customers in the former Wickes store in Aberdeen. Image: DC Thomson

Wickes claims 35 new jobs would be created if the proposals are approved.

An outdoor projects centre for landscape and garden projects would be located to the rear of the store.

There would also be ample on-site parking with 82 spaces including four disabled bays.

Access to the carpark would be off Exploration Way.

Planning documents reveal how the new Wickes site at Westhill could look. Supplied by Knight Property Group Date
Planning documents reveal how the new Wickes site at Westhill could look. Image: Knight Property Group

Wickes: ‘Clear demand’ for new store at Westhill

Property agents Ryden said Wickes had expressed a “strong interest” in the Aberdeenshire site.

In a planning statement, the firm said the DIY giant had “identified a desire to establish a presence within the Aberdeen market”.

The red outline shows the site of the proposed Wickes store in Westhill. Supplied by Ryden
The red outline shows the site of the proposed Wickes store in Westhill. Image: Ryden

Ryden argued that the proposed warehouse would fit in with existing businesses in the area and would bring benefits to the local economy.

They added: “There is a clear demand for a home improvement store in Westhill and this proposal meets that criterion.”

Wickes would add to big names already in Westhill

Development of Arnhall Business Park has been ongoing for more than 15 years.

Many businesses there are involved in subsea engineering, with the area established as a global centre of excellence in the field.

The site of the proposed Wickes store in Westhill. Supplied by Google Maps
The site of the proposed Wickes store in Westhill. Image: Google Maps

But in recent years many sites have been developed into retail units instead due to an overprovision of office space.

If approved, Wickes would join big names including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Screwfix and Toolstation at the business park.

First Wickes opened in 1972

Wickes welcomed its first customers 50 years ago and is one of the UK’s fastest growing home improvement retailers.

It’s initial site at Whitefield, Manchester opened in 1972.

The firm now operates 230 stores throughout the UK, with sites in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling.

You can view the plans here.

Conversation