The people of Perth have been invited to have their say on the direction the city should take in the coming years as it expands and flourishes.
“Everyone has a part to play” says the introduction to the Perth City Plan which envisages Perth having a population of around 60,000 by 2035.
The 20-year vision has been drawn up by the Perth City Development Board but councillors have endorsed the plan which will now go out to consultation with residents, businesses and national bodies.
Board chairman John Bullough, who also has interests in the future development of the city as executive chairman of McEwen’s of Perth, said: “I am really pleased that councillors have accepted the Perth City Plan as a basis for how the private and public sectors in Perth and Kinross can help to achieve our city’s ambitions. “This is a significant step in what looks set to be an exciting journey for Perth to grow and expand in a way which will attract external investment and support the growth and development of existing business.
“The board’s involvement means that this city plan isn’t like anything that Perth has seen before, it’s not just the view of one organisation, it’s a collective vision built from the broad range of experience available within the development board to make Perth a great small European city.
“Developing the city isn’t just about building more roads, houses or schools. We need all of these things, but the Perth City Plan sets out actions for smart growth so that we are building the right houses, with high quality designs, to create a new generation of sustainable communities and neighbourhoods with access to employment and services.
“To achieve this the new Perth City Plan balances long term perspective with short-term action. Many towns and cities come up with similar plans to this, but only a select few deliver them.
“Those who do succeed do so through bravery. There will always be those that would prefer Perth to stay just the way it is. Change is going to cause disruption, mess…
“But the development board are absolutely confident that the quieter vast majority of Perth realise that doing nothing is simply not an option.”