Town tour sees PKC figurehead visit Blair
Variety of issues on agenda as chief exec stops by
Perth and Kinross Council chief executive, Thomas Glen, and members of the local authority’s senior management team visited Blairgowrie last week as part of efforts to see more of the region.
During their visit to the town, they met with members of the local community, including representatives from Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust, Mount Blair Community Development Trust, Blairgowrie, Rattray and District Climate Cafe and Blairgowrie and Rattray in Bloom.
Mr Glen, who was previously deputy chief executive at East Dunbartonshire Council, explained the thinking behind the trip to the Blairie.
He said: “I’ve been in post for about nine months now and what we’ve been doing over the last six months or so is I’ve been out with our senior management team across the region and not just based in Perth.
“We’ve visited Letham, Auchterarder, Pitlochry and now Blairgowrie – and will be going to Crieff next month.
“We have our business meeting, go for a walk in the town to get a feel for what’s going on and then invite members of the community for a cup of tea or coffee and a conversation.”
He went on: “It’s not just about the big things, we want to use these sessions to build on existing relationships and moving forward will be trying to identify areas that we can work on together, areas that we as the council can lead on and areas that the community is best placed to lead on.
“We also know that we’re going to have to make savings of around £25 million in next year’s budget and we need to look at how to do that as it will mean reductions across some service areas.”
Mr Glen continued: “In Blairgowrie, the session was partly about an immediate response to the cost of living crisis and how we can work on that as we move into winter, and how we maintain an ongoing relationship with the community and with BRDT, which is key to that task.
“It was an initial chat, and it was great to hear about BRDT’s links with the more than 140 community groups and organisations in Blairgowrie and Rattray and think about how we can use those links to better communicate with local residents.
“One example of that was the challenge groups are facing in accessing council spaces to bring people together and keep them warm in winter and how we can mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis over the next few months.
“It’s all about how we respond together to try to help those in the greatest need.”
And Mr Glen added: “There are many similar issues in communities across Perth and Kinross – the cost of living crisis is impacting Scotland, the UK and the wider world – and although there is a good deal of commonality, it is good for us to be out in communities to get a sense of issues locally which can be quite specific.
“This is just part of how we are looking to review the way in which we reach out, engage with and are present and visible within communities and I look forward to our team working with communities over the coming months to build on the bits we already do well and improve the areas where we can do better.”
A spokesperson for BRDT said that the council chief executive’s visit had been a “helpful and interesting session” and that they were grateful to Mr Glen and his colleagues for taking the time to come through to Blairgowrie.
They said: “We covered a lot of ground in the hour or so that we met, including how PKC communicates with the local community here in Blairgowrie and Rattray, and were able to highlight the importance of communication and coordination in making a positive difference to people’s lives on a day to day basis – and the role BRDT can play in that.
“BRDT’s work is led by the community for the community.
“We work with local people, community groups, businesses and the local authority to help create a thriving and attractive town, with a strong sense of community and identity, appealing to those who live, work and visit the area.
“One aspect of this is that we need to know what the council is proposing to do so that we can prepare for potential cuts to services or the impact of the cost of living crisis.
“We are already discussing reforming the town’s resilience group ahead of the winter and are keen to work with council officers on how we can make the most of the resources that are available to help those who need it most, similar to the way we worked together during the height of the Covid lockdowns and restrictions.
“Hopefully this session will prove to be a positive foundation to build from in terms of working together in the future.”