A young local government hopeful has claimed that younger candidates are being held back from becoming part of Perth and Kinross Council.
Independent hopeful Nathan Shields himself just 25 believes an influx of new councillors is needed.
In a statement Mr Shields, who was a vocal president of the University of the Highlands and Islands Student Association, criticised the mix of councillors for lacking ”diversity, enthusiasm and the ability to look to the future”.
Council figures show that the average age of a Perthshire councillor is 63, with 75% of the 41 elected councillors older than 61. The figures also show that only 7% of councillors are between 31 and 50 and the council has no councillors younger than 30.
Mr Shields said: ”This is completely out of sync with the population of Perth and Kinross and shows that our councillors are not representative of the community.
”I think it’s clear that the world is evolving and Perth and Kinross is facing new challenges and I believe that we can’t rely on party ‘stalwarts’ making decisions based on what worked 10 years ago.”
He added: ”Perth and Kinross must keep up with the pace of change or Scotland’s newest city will become the nation’s next forgotten relic.”
The country will go to the polls on May 3 to decide who will lead at the local level for the next five years.
In Perth and Kinross, the 41 councillors chosen will oversee a large and mainly rural area whose communities pose a wide variety of challenges to elected members.
Among those announced as the victors the following day will be a number of new names, with a series of prominent and long-standing councillors stepping down.
Foremost among them is Provost John Hulbert, who has represented the Carse of Gowrie for 17 years, while SNP colleague Peter Mulherron will also go.
Other names set to step back from the council chamber include Dave Scott who was forced to step down due to ill health and Alasdair Wylie.
The new Perth Independent Candidates Party will also work to unseat as many existing councillors as possible.
Mr Shields has urged voters not to be frightened to elect a new generation.
He said: ”We need a full range of councillors from different social backgrounds, ethnicities and from across the age spectrum.”