Community open day is planned
Election candidates invited
Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council is to hold an open event in the town.
The session - which will take place on Friday, April 21 from 11am to 6pm at Blairgowrie Town Hall - will give local residents a chance to speak with representatives from a range of organisations and groups whose work has an impact on the east Perthshire area.
It has been organised following the success of a similar session in 2014.
Amongst those in attendance then were officers from a number of Perth and Kinross Council departments including planning, transport and roads, as well as representatives from wind farm developers with a vested interest in the area and other organisations such as Alzheimer Scotland.
This time around, the community council hope that the candidates for the council elections, which take place this year on May 4, will also have a presence at the event.
The idea of inviting candidates in the forthcoming local government elections was first brought up at the January meeting of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council.
Speaking at that meeting, community councillor Len Seal suggested: “There are three councillor posts in this ward and it seems as though some sort of hustings in the lead up to the council elections is the best opportunity our community is going to get to find out more about the candidates.”
Chair of the community council, Morag Young, agreed, commenting: “I think it will be a good opportunity for the community to be introduced to the candidates themselves rather than just the party they are representing. It could level the playing field a little.”
Assuring her colleagues of the community council’s neutrality in the local government elections, Mrs Young added: “All we are doing with these hustings is providing the venue and inviting the candidates, in line with our remit to engage with the community.”