Beales fails to get buyer after 11th hour talks
A stranded oil tanker and a rescue vehicle also in trouble on the U161, January 24, 2016. This is the proposed alternative route for traffic while Openreach does work on the C448
A plan to close a six -mile stretch of road for three weeks and send diverted traffic over Scotland’s highest hill road has been scrapped at the last minute.
BT Openreach had Perth and Kinross Council’s permission to close 10km of the C448, the only road through Glenlyon, between Invervar and Bridge of Balgie, so it could bury a cable.
Traffic was to be sent over the single-track, unclassified U161, a ‘black spot’in winter, winding around the shoulder of Ben Lawers.
But after repeated calls from the Glenlyon and Loch Tay Community Council, the contractors agreed to call the work off - for now.
BT Openreach first advised of the disruption last October. There was an immediate objection from the community council echoed by Cllr John Duff.
Openreach seemed set to proceed. Signs had already gone up last week advising that the road - the only access to farms, several businesses and a number of vulnerable elderly residents - would be closed to vehicles between Invervar and Cambusvrachan from Monday, January 20 for 21 days.
The block on traffic from 9.30am to 3.30pm meant the library bus would not get through and daytime deliveries for the school and cafe would be interrupted.
Then the community council received an email late on Friday to say that the Openreach work, planned to begin yesterday, had been“cancelled”.
While the immediate situation has been put off this week, the work and the closures will still have to take place at a time in the near future.
Chair of the community council, Sue Dolan-Betney warned:“Just because the closure has been cancelled now doesn’t make the problem go away.
“This problem has only been temporarily averted. Openreach still has work to do.”
Willy Graham told the PA:“As a local resident, I would only use the hill road at this time of year after a prolonged mild period. Even if the road is clear in the glen, once we have had snow, it can lie for some time on the more sheltered stretches of road on the north side of the hill.
“Maybe the council and Openreach staff should try it for themselves.”
June Riddell, from Glenlyon and Loch Tay Community Council, added:“How can any sane person imagine that the hill road can be used as alternative access at any time of year, let alone at the worst time of winter? It beggars belief.”
A popular Perth department store has announced it has collapsed into administration.
Confirmation that Beales had gone into administration came yesterday (Monday, January 20), only a week after concerns were raised about its future.
Last week Beales said it was in eleventh-hour talks with two potential buyers in a bid to save its 22 stores, including its only Scottish branch on St John Street in Perth.
KPMG has been appointed administrators after failing to secure a sale.
The Bournemouth-based company is one of the country’s oldest department store chains, and it was founded back in 1881.
It is understood there will be no immediate closure of the store and Beales will continue to trade for the time being.
Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said he will be making the case for the Perth store to remain open.
Along with his colleague John Swinney MSP, he is holding a meeting in Perth next week to discuss the future of the city centre.
He said: “I am saddened to hear that Beales has entered into administration.
“It will be a very worrying time for staff members and the implications on the high street will be huge, if a solution cannot be found.
“It will now be up to the administrators to see what can be done to try and save the business.
“I am already hearing sources close to the company talking of trying to salvage a slimmed down version of the business going forward.”
Their meeting will be held at 7pm in the Royal George Hotel, Perth on Thursday, January 30.
Since the announcement last week, Beales had been seeking to negotiate rent reductions with some of the owners of its stores.
Perth and Kinross Council had given Beales rates relief when it moved into the former McEwens building at the end of 2017.
Murray Lyle, leader of Perth and Kinross Council, last week told the PA about what efforts are being made to improve the city centre.
Speaking yesterday, he said: “It is disappointing when anyone leaves the city centre.
“Given the information we all had last week, we suspected that it was a preliminary announcement and Beales was likely to go into administration.
“We will look at what we can do, but the council doesn’t have the answer for everything.
“But we will certainly endeavour to do everything in our powers to stimulate the high street and the city centre, but there is a limit.”
However, he added he hopes this will not lead to the closure of the Perth branch.
He continued: “Closure is not necessarily the case yet - quite often these companies go into administration to relieve debt pressures, and we don’t have the information yet on Beales leaving Perth.”
Will Wright, partner and joint administrator at KPMG, said: “With the impact of high rents and rates exacerbated by disappointing trading over the Christmas period, an extensive discussions around additional investment proving unsuccessful, there were no other available options but to place the company into administration.
“Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern while we assess options for business.”