Rival City Hall bids
Perth City Hall’s future could be guaranteed next week after it was placed at the heart of a £30 million culture regeneration vision for the Fair City.
After a near 11-year hiatus Perth and Kinross Council is now proposing to pump in around £10m directly to transforming the building into a venue for the Stone of Scone and the visual arts.
On Wednesday councillors be asked to consider the proposals, part of an exciting raft of measures and major developments which were confirmed throughout this week.
The news comes just a day after Councillor Ian Miller, leader of the administration for Perth and Kinross Council, announced that he would be calling for the Stone of Destiny to be brought to Perth as part of a multi-million pound investment in cultural attractions in the city.
The schemes - as reported in the Perthshire Advertiser last year - are designed to boost the number of culture vultures enticed to Perth and Kinross, with Perth Museum and Art Gallery set for an uplift too.
Councillor Miller said: “The future of Perth City Hall has been hotly debated over the years, but I believe that it has the potential to become a valuable asset to the city as the preferred location for developing a new cultural attraction of national significance in Perth.
“Throughout our discussions about Perth City Hall the council has remained consistent in our aim to secure a viable future for the site which would maximise the economic return for the city and the wider area.
“I believe that transforming the City Hall to develop a major visual arts attraction will do exactly that.”
The Perth City Plan – Smart Growth for Perth City, developed by the private sector-led Perth City Development Board and supported by elected members, identifies the need for a new cultural attraction to help deliver on Perth’s potential in the cultural tourism market.
The PA’s questions on the council’s behind-closed-doors ‘securing the future’ discussions also uncovered that PKC was looking into such a move.
Earlier this year councillors instructed the council’s senior officers to progress site appraisals for the new visitor attraction. As a result Perth City Hall is the proposed location.
According to PKC the proposal would maximise the potential of the building, enabling a remodelling to create modern exhibition space that is capable of accommodating national and international quality exhibits alongside the council’s own substantial museum collections.
The wider public areas surrounding the building would also be invested in to create a more dynamic civic space.
Councillor Miller added: “Over the years we have had many proposals for how Perth City Hall could be used, but they have all failed to materialise. I believe that this is a realistic and exciting option which sees this important city centre location retained in public use and ownership and developed in a way which will vastly increase its attractiveness to tourists locally and from overseas.
“Redeveloping the City Hall will also provide us with a potential venue to offer the Stone of Destiny in the very heart of the city if councillors back my call to make a formal request for it to be relocated here.
“This proposal could be a real game changer for the City of Perth and I hope that everyone will rally round and given their full support to my proposal.”
This proposal could be a real game changer for the City of Perth