Overgrown site owner is told to tidy up land
Probe into alleged planning breach
Perth and Kinross Council may take action at the site of a former Crieff hotel.
The local authority is currently looking into an alleged breach of a planning condition to keep the former Strathearn Hotel site suitably landscaped.
Work to demolish the then derelict building, which sat on the corner of King Street and Commissioner Street, began in September 2021 after safety concerns were repeatedly raised by locals, community groups and elected members for a number of years.
The land is privately- owned but the building’s demolition was partly funded by £265,000 allocated from the Scottish Government’s Town Centres Community Fund.
A condition of the planning application was that the site should be landscaped within three weeks of demolition but, almost two years on, the site is overgrown and calls have been made for the site to be cleaned up.
The council’s website states that an enforcement order was initially raised in late September and what is described as a “resolution target date” has been set for Tuesday, November 21.
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm the council has received complaints regarding the location in question and we are in contact with the site owner.”
In relation to the target dates, the PKC representative went on to explain: “Our online case management system will automatically apply standard target dates from when either a planning
application, building warrant or, in this case, enforcement case is added to it.
“At this stage we are investigating if there has been, as alleged, a breach of planning conditions. We have requested that the owner undertakes the required works to tidy up the site by October 31. If the work is not completed by then, we will consider appropriate action, including formal enforcement.”