The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Waverley Hotel: Demolition gets green light.
Perth: Former Waverley Hotel to be razed and multi-use hall and gym built
Businesswoman Ann Gloag has welcomed a council decision to allow her multimillion-pound proposal to demolish an eyesore Perth hotel.
But the philanthropist has fired a broadside at the local authority, saying she hopes this move paves the way for similar development in the city.
Speaking after the £3.6 million plan to raze the Waverley Hotel to the ground and replace it with a multi-use hall and gym was approved under delegated powers, she said she hopes this decision “marks the start” of the council recognising the need to allow other derelict sites to be developed in Perth.
Ms Gloag – a member of the adjacent Trinity Church of the Nazarene – described the planning process as “very long and tortuous”.
The Waverley Hotel, at the junction of York Place and Caledonian Road, closed its doors in August 2011, after latterly being used as a homeless refuge.
Ms Gloag wants the new facility to be available for “community use”, as well as creating a lunch club for “struggling families and the homeless”.
She added: “This has been a very long and tortuous process so we are delighted we can finally move forward with regenerating this site as planned. Our focus has always been to provide a development that benefits our great city and the people within it and we can now deliver that for Perth.
“Hopefully this decision marks the start of the council recognising the need to allow other derelict sites to be developed, in order to ensure the city is not blighted further by the eyesores that currently exist.”
Council planning officer John Russell has issued a report on the handling of the decision to approve the hotel demolition plan for the site. He states: “A conservation team accept that sufficient analysis has now been made to conclude that demolition of the listed building is justified in terms of economic viability.
“They note the design of the new development is a significant improvement to the previous proposal.
“I do not consider the creation of the multi-use hall and gym facility to conflict with the spatial strategy of the local plan, as it will not impact adversely on the city centre’s vitality.”
There had been criticism of the design from some quarters but Mr Russell feels it is a “significant improvement” on earlier schemes. Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust (PKHT) had lodged an objection to the plan, claiming the new development will be of “poor quality.”
A spokesperson said the trust did not wish to comment on the decision.
Hopefully this decision marks the start of the council recognising the need to allow other derelict sites to be developed, in order to ensure the city is not blighted further by the eyesores that currently exist