The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Coronavirus sinks town’s £383k plan
Pitlochry is set to lose out on nearly £400,000 of key town centre regeneration funding after the project was scrapped due to restraints caused by Covid-19.
Perth and Kinross Council admitted that a lack of staffing resources amid the pandemic meant the proposal to develop the Atholl Road area would not be in place by the spending deadline set out by the Scottish Government next year.
Last year, councillors had agreed that £383,000 from the Town Centre Fund would be used to create an improved civic space for events and markets at the Memorial Garden in the Highland Perthshire town.
However, following concerns from the community council about the lack of engagement, the project was postponed, with two more options tabled and the deadline extended until March 31 2021 for a plan to be agreed, and September 2021 for the money to be spent.
Following a number of public consultations, it was agreed that the original proposal for the memorial garden should be pursued.
Despite all parties now agreeing to the original plan, it has been revealed in papers to go before councillors this week that the regeneration project will now need to be scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Elected officials will instead be asked to divide Pitlochry’s money to help the regeneration of other Perthshire towns, with officers recommending £265,000 be spent on the former Strathearn Hotel and £100,000 on the former Crieff Hotel.
The report, approved by the interim chief operating officer at Perth and Kinross Council, Karen Donaldson, states: “Regrettably, due to delays in agreeing and progressing the proposal concept and the impact of the subsequent coronavirus pandemic, it has not been possible to develop a proposal that supports broader regeneration and development of the adjacent site, that meets Town Centre Fund criteria, and can be delivered within predicted timescales for procurement, even within the extended timescales of the original funding.”
The papers put forward a number of setbacks, with the majority caused by the pandemic.
It reads: “There is no officer capacity within community greenspace, roads network management and public transport to support required design development due to priority Covid response work.
“Due to resources being redeployed... as a result of the pandemic, there is insufficient time to procure external consultancy support.
“There is insufficient time to secure statutory consents that would be required.”
Despite the set back, Highland Perth shire Independent councillor Xander McDade hopes that the removal of a deadline will see the delivery of other projects with more community engagement.
He told The Courier: “Unfortunately, despite significant efforts from all involved, it appears it has not been possible to agree and deliver a project that meets the criteria in the timescale required.
“However, I’m pleased that the council has committed to continuing to support a project to renovate the area between the former RBS and Bank of Scotland.
“There is potential to access both council funding for this and new external funding but... there will be the opportunity for much more significant community engagement.