DECISION ON STONE SOON Location of historic relic to be revealed
Josie Malcolm (5) was among those to join in the fun at Balhousie Luncarty Care Home’s winter wonderland event.
The Perthshire home drew on the help of Balhousie Care staff, residents and volunteers to create an outdoor nativity scene and decorate the garden area.
Cheryl Banks, Balhousie
The Scottish Government has brought fresh hope that the long-awaited decision on the Stone of Destiny will be made soon.
The Fair City has waited for over a year to hear whether or not the coronation stone would form the centrepiece of the £23 million Perth City Hall revamp.
As the Tay Cities Deal is signed this week, council leader Murray Lyle said securing the Stone would give the project a “huge boost.”
This week a Scottish Government spokesperson told the PA: “The Commissioners [for the Safeguarding of the
Regalia] expect to make an announcement about the location of the Stone of Destiny in the near future.”
The Tay Cities Deal is due to be signed on Thursday (Dec 17) with £10 million of funding being allocated to the Perth City Hall project.
A six-week consultation on the Stone of Destiny concluded on September 19, 2019 and the people of Perthshire have been waiting with bated breath ever since.
People were asked for their views on whether to keep the relic at its current home displayed next to the crown jewels at Edinburgh Castle or bring it to Perth.
Should their bid be successful, Perth and Kinross Council has plans to display the coronation
stone in a custom-designed secure case in a centrepiece display - The Stone Pavilion. Visitors to Perth City Hall would have free access and see the Stone animated with light and sound, recreating the 13th century crowning of Alexander III.
Hollywood actor Ewan McGregor and endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont were among the celebrities backing the Perthshire Advertiser’s It is our Destiny campaign to bring the Stone home. And politicians from across the political divide have thrown their weight behind Perth’s bid to host the ancient relic.
This Thursday Conservative leader councillor Lyle will sign the Tay Cities
Deal. The deal will see £10 million of funding secured for the Perth City Hall project.
Cllr Lyle said: “I am very much looking forward to signing the deal. It will allow us to take things forward - such as the Cross Tay Link Road, Perth City Hall and Pitlochry Festival Theatre - with confidence.”
But he said a decision on the Stone of Destiny was “imperative” as contracts are signed.
Over the weekend deputy first minister and Perthshire North MSP John Swinney became the latest politician to say he had written to the first minister asking if there was an update on the decision. Mr Swinney is very much in favour of bringing the Stone to Perth.
He said: “I have been arguing for this since the 1990s and there is an excellent proposal now to do so.”
In February Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife Murdo Fraser wrote to Nicola Sturgeon - in her role as one of the Commissioners of the Regalia - asking when a decision would be made. And in September 2020 Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie wrote to Ms Sturgeon urging her to recommend the relic be displayed in Perth.
The Scottish Government has previously noted the decision has been delayed by the pandemic and said it would be “announced as soon as the circumstances allow.”