Council to hear of next steps

Councillors will be presented with a report setting out the next steps in transforming the culture of Perth and Kinross next week.

The full council meeting on Wednesday will be told what steps need to be taken for the cultural regeneration of Perth, given that the Fair City’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 status was unsuccessful.

A council spokesperson explained: “While Perth was not shortlisted for the UK City of Culture, its bid was commended by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for its ambition, quality and the strength of partnership working.”

The report highlights a number of achievements that have been reached during the Perth 2021 bidding process, including “reigniting civic pride” by involving 10,000 local people in developing the bid, getting nearly 27,000 people involved in creative projects, boosting the profile of Perth with local and national media coverage and securing major business support for the bid, including from SSE, Stagecoach and Gleneagles Hotel.

The bid set out to challenge what the council branded Perth’s “quiet crisis” – a perceived sense of isolation and high inwork poverty as a result of a lack of highvalue jobs. It also highlighted specific challenges faced by small cities.

Council leader Ian Campbell said: “We want Perth to be one of the best small cities in Europe and we will use culture to increase tourism, develop higher-value jobs, retain talent and reconnect people.

“The council cannot do this alone. We need expertise and support from all sectors to realise our vision. The bidding process for UK City of Culture helped to make new connections and spark ideas and collaborations.

“Now is our chance to pull together and become an exemplar for similar towns and small cities across the UK..”

The report to next week’s meeting recommends further developing Perth’s branding and promotion and developing a Creative Cities network across Scotland and Northern England.

It seeks to develop an exciting events and arts programme using the ideas from the Perth 2021 bid and it will also look to develop digital skills in the region’s creative industries and develop new funding and delivery models for culture.