Tourism boost in pipeline for Blair
Delayed project is due soon, say PKC
Businesses in Blairgowrie could be in line for a boost now a longmooted plan to make it easier for tourists to navigate their way through the town is back on the agenda.
Signs highlighting the town’s Riverside area that were promised some four years ago as part of the town centre regeneration could finally be in place “in the coming months”.
That’s according to a statement from Perth and Kinross Council in response to concerns raised by local councillor for the Blairgowrie and Glens ward, Caroline Shiers.
Councillor Shiers explained: “The brown tourist signs for the Riverside area, which were to have been paid for as part of the town centre regeneration budget back in 2012, were delayed when Oakbank Road was closed by the landslip in late December of that year.
“These were a key part of the regeneration efforts and offering signage to somewhere for visitors to the town to stop, enjoy a riverside walk and then visit the shops, cafes and other businesses in the town centre.
“However, that was nearly four years ago and the road has been re-open for
several weeks now and there are still no signs up.
“There have been lots of discussions around this but the net result is that we don’t have the signs which we were promised and which were a key part of the plans to encourage more people into the town centre.
“That was recognised by officers in 2012 and is even more important now. I very much hope the signs can be erected as soon as possible.”
Responding to the concerns, a spokesperson for PKC said: “Now that Oakbank Road has re-opened, the signage for the Riverside area of Blairgowrie that had previously been consulted on and designed as part of the Town Centre Regeneration Fund work will now be produced and erected in the coming months.”
At the same meeting, meanwhile, Councillor Shiers also voiced concerns about the lack of signs directing people to recreation facilities in the town.
She said: “A number of clubs in the town have contacted me about getting white signs for their facilities.
“This issue has been ongoing for a number of years with clubs like Rattray Tennis Club, Blairgowrie Tennis Club and Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Football Club complaining that it is difficult to encourage new members to come long and try their sports when there are no signs directing them to the grounds.”
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “While the council has responsibility for authorising all signs placed within the boundary of roads on its network, it does not have funding to support signage for sports clubs or organisations.
“Directional road signs are primarily there to help people get safely to their intended destination and should not cause a road safety hazard by distracting drivers or create unsightly street clutter.
“They are not advertising signs for organisations and should not be seen as such. We have to carefully consider each of the many requests we receive for signage on an individual basis.”
The spokesperson added: “Sports clubs or organisations can apply to Visit scotland for a brown and white tourist sign to their facility.
“This requires VisitScotland to assess and approve the destination as a quality establishment using its own criteria, although we understand there are costs involved in assessment and ongoing inclusion in the VisitScotland scheme.
“Enquiries for this can be made to signposting@ visitscotland.com. Approval from VisitScotland and the appropriate funding is required before the council can authorise a tourist sign to the facility or venue.”