£14m plans to boost city centre nightlife

Perth: Scheme to use new lighting and infrastructure

Perth’s iconic Fergusson Gallery will be transformed as part of a multi-million-pound plan to rescue the city’s flagging nightlife, The Courier can reveal.

A wide-ranging strategy has been drawn up by chiefs from Perth and Kinross Council after a study revealed nearly 60% of the local population had never set foot in the city centre after 6pm.

The £14 million programme will use inventive lighting and new infrastructure to bring more visitors into the area.

The local authority has already set aside funding for the project, which includes £5 million towards the ambitious City of Light plan.

A new “golden route” will link the city centre with the train station and a new courtyard at St Paul’s Church.

The plan also reveals, for the first time, that an “alternative use” is being considered for the Fergusson Gallery building. Culture bosses have confirmed the collection will be relocated in the next few years, as part of renovations at Perth City Hall and the museum and art gallery.

Nearly three-fifths of the local population has never set foot in Perth city centre after 6pm, a new study has found.

The retail survey revealed thousands of people from across the Perth and Kinross region were unwilling to make a trip into the city after dark.

The research has prompted Perth and Kinross Council to draw up a multimillion-pound action plan aimed at reviving the area’s flagging nightlife.

This week, councillors will be asked to back the new “placemaking” strategy which will lead to major investment throughout the city centre and beyond.

The local authority has already set aside £14 million for the project, which includes £5m towards the ambitious City of Light plan.

The relocation of the famous JD Fergusson collection, freeing up the Fergusson Gallery building, is highlighted as one of the long-term aims of the scheme (see left).

The plan also includes the creation of a “golden route” linking King Street with the city centre.

It involves enhanced pedestrian space, lighting and cycle ways to link up with improvements at the railway and bus stations.

The council is in talks with Network Rail about developing designs for the scheme.

Vennels and streets around Perth City Hall will also be illuminated to encourage more people to explore the area.

The work is expected to start by late 2019.

The programme, which will go before members of the environment, enterprise and infrastructure committee for approval, also reveals that the Queen’s Bridge and buildings on Tay Street will be fitted with lighting some time next year.

And there are further plans for new street furniture and planting.

A major part of the scheme will be the creation of an attractive courtyard around St Paul’s Church, which is being transformed into a new venue by the local authority.

The area is expected to be used for markets and performances and several groups have already expressed interest in using the space.

The plan also envisages improvements and new lighting outside Perth, in Alyth, Aberfeldy Square and Auchterarder.

City development manager John McCrone said in his committee paper: “Research has identified that 57% of our residents have never visited the city centre after 6pm.”

Mr McCrone said this year’s NorieMiller Light Nights, which attract around 51,000 visits to the city centre riverside, was evidence that inventive use of lighting can bring about an economic boost and create a “significant cultural attraction”.

Research has identified that 57% of our residents have never visited the city centre after 6pm

An artist’s impressions by Lightfolio of how Perth could look as part of attempts to get people to come into the city centre at night.