Plans to follow City of Culture bid ideas
Council agree on report
Councillors voted in favour of a plan which is hoped will improve the area’s fortunes following the UK City of Culture 2021 status bid disappointment.
Fiona Robertson, head of culture and public service reform at Perth and Kinross Council, proposed the commissioning of a report designed to analyse the next steps as the Fair City looks to bounce back from the disappointment at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday.
Reflecting on Perth not making the city of culture shortlist, PKC chief executive Bernadette Malone said: “I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I am disappointed to see Perth’s creativity and ambition beaten by larger post-industrial cities with higher poverty levels. However, ‘Team PK’ has emerged stronger for competing and will continue delivering ambitious transformation.” Fiona Robertson
Council leader Ian Campbell told the meeting: “This council first stated its intention to bid for UK City of Culture back in October 2015. Competition at this level would always be fierce - with no guarantees of winning.
“What we did know from the outset was that we would submit a bid which responded to the real challenges faced by small cities serving large rural economies and talked loud and proud about our incredible cultural heritage and our vibrant arts scene.
“We are now a strong voice for the small cities, with an engaged army of residents and businesses.”
The report will be launched in December, two months after Perth Theatre reopens, and includes a number of plans in the pipeline, one of which is an application to host the Royal National Mod in 2022.
Perth and Paisley both applied to host the event in 2021, with Paisley edging ahead in the race as it made the shortlist for the city of culture contest’s latter stages.
Ms Robertson confirmed: “We have already applied for Mod 2022, and if Paisley don’t win City of Culture 2021, we’ll still in the running to host the Mod then [in 2021].”
One key area which is to be looked at in the report is the provision of training and apprenticeships in traditional heritage industries.
Ms Robertson said: “There are many paths into the cultural sector and there are only a small number of training opportunities in Scotland, with none of them being in Perth and Kinross. We will take this forward.”
Cllr Colin Stewart also asked whether this role would conflict with similar roles within the council.
Ms Robertson confirmed that the role would be allencompassing and bring together the work carried out by the local authority so far, as well as activities being undertaken by Perth Concert Hall, Perth Museum and Art Gallery and others.