New lease of life for landmark building
Crieff BID team given keys to old town hall
A landmark Crieff building was given a new lease of life this week as a group tasked with boosting the town’s economic fortunes officially opened what could become a facility in the premises.
The interior of the old town hall has been refurbished by Perth and Kinross Council to provide office space for the Crieff Succeeds Business Improvement District (BID).
As well as other projects, the BID team is behind an ongoing £44,000 digital drive to promote the town to the short-stay tourism market in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the northeast of England.
The deal will see Crieff BID based in the building, which used to be home to the town’s tourism information centre but has been closed for several months, for three years.
The premises will be used as office accommodation for the business activities of Crieff BID as well as provide visitor information in association with the national tourism organisation, VisitScotland .
It will also provide meeting space for local groups and organisations, and historical artefacts that are located in the building will be on display when it is open.
Neil Combe, manager of Crieff Succeeds BID, said: “We are extremely pleased that Crieff Succeeds BID, in conjunction with PKC, has been able to play a major role in securing the longterm future of the Town Hall.
“We know the building is of particular significance to the people of Crieff, sitting at the heart of the Strathearn capital, and we have helped to save a valuable community asset.
“It’s fair to say, that if we hadn’t made the move, the building would have remained closed.”
However, concerns have been raised regarding what has been described as the “inadequacy and difficulty” of access to the artefacts located in the basement of the building – known locally as the ‘Crieff Monuments’.
Public access to the items, which are owned by Perth and Kinross Council and managed by Culture Perth and Kinross, is understood to have been set at 17 hours per week, on week days, including one fixed afternoon per week in which unrestricted access will be available.
Mr Combe said: “Crieff BID knows there is great interest in the Crieff Monuments which are housed in the town hall. We are very keen that these artefacts should be accessible to visitors and are happy to work with any willing volunteers to staff the town hall so that we can extend the opening hours accordingly.”
As well as providing office space, Crieff BID’s Town Hall hub has become the latest location in the country to sign up to VisitScotland’s Information Partner (VIP) programme.
By joining the network, Crieff BID has committed to actively promote the Strathearn capital and the wider Perthshire area, and services offered by local businesses.
Mr Combe added: “Crieff has a host of things to see and do for visitors and we have a real sense of pride in being part of this exciting scheme.
“Our town welcomes thousands of visitors each year and the VIP programme is a great opportunity to share their wealth of local knowledge to help showcase the tourism offer in the area.
“By joining the VIP programme, not only are we helping to further strengthen and enhance the overall visitor experience in Crieff, we are working together to raise the profile of Scotland as a whole.”
Jim Clarkson, VisitScotland regional partnerships director, said: “Crieff boasts a multitude of things for visitors to see and do and we look forward to working with Crieff Succeeds BID to ensure that visitors receive the best local information from a variety of providers.” Succeeds BID manager Neil Combe