A pair of long-vacant shop units on a prominent Perth street could finally be given a new lease of life.
The former Toymaster store on Canal Street and pet shop next door have been empty for years. Until recently, the units had been an embarrassing eyesore at one of the major routes into Perth and one of the first sights many visitors would have seen as they entered Perth.
A determined bid to market the building for re-use has been made, resulting in debris and foliage being cleared from the interior and a new shell being put in place.
Now, local firm Cooling Fitness Ltd has applied to transform the 10,000 square foot space into a new fitness suite.
The Fit 4 Less fitness club is described as ”a new health and fitness club with associated changing facilities and studios”.
Oak Green, agents for the applicant, said: ”The applicant intends to operate a health and fitness club at the proposed site located in the centre of Perth. They have identified that there is a lack of suitable health and fitness clubs serving the local area in Perth.”
The plans have been placed before Perth and Kinross Council for consideration later in the year but are likely to receive the backing of residents.
One business owner who operates nearby said: ”We’re all delighted to see someone come forward with a use for those shops because they have been a disgrace and we’ve had to put up with them a long, long time.
”They are massive units with big glass fronts and over the years you could actually see plants growing inside it looked like there was a tree growing up the window of one.
”When Toymaster moved out, they just dumped everything there were still fittings and rubbish everywhere. A few months ago, we noticed workies in fixing the place up ahead of it being marketed and everyone around here is delighted to hear there could be an end to this at last.”