Residents around the former St Stephen’s Primary School in Blairgowrie are objecting to plans to convert it into flats.
Plans to transform the property, which has lain empty since the school moved to the community campus in 2009, have been submitted to Perth and Kinross Council.
Architect Jim Brown wants to alter the frontage and build nine flats within the existing walls. However, residents fear the development will result in parking problems and say nine flats is too many for the size of the building.
So far, 11 people have submitted formal objections to the local authority.
Mark Lamond wrote: “This development will increase the traffic on the upper portion of John Street considerably and place corresponding pressure on adjoining streets.
“While nine parking spaces are planned on the site, the number of dwellings proposed will still result in a large demand for on-street parking in John Street and Lochy Terrace, which is particularly narrow.
“With cars lining both sides of John Street, it is virtually impossible to turn a car at the top of the road and those attempting to do so are likely to damage parked vehicles.
“The increase and nature of traffic would also become a danger for those in the street with young families, who take advantage of the safety of the John Street cul-de-sac to play on their scooters in relative safety.
“If traffic has to reverse down the road instead of turn, the chances of an accident are greatly increased.”
Shirley Doig added: “Nine flats is excessive. If the flats are occupied to capacity, that would mean 28 people living in a relatively small building two people in each of the four one-bedroom flats and four people in each of the five two-bedroom flats.
“Noise pollution and disturbance would affect all the people in the neighbouring properties, who have chosen to live in a very quiet, peaceful area.”
Graeme Carling, managing director of Carling Properties, which recently bought the building, said it was “absolutely ideal” for conversion.
“There is a desperate need for this type of accommodation,” he said.
“We know because whenever we put any new development on our website we are immediately inundated with inquiries we could fill them 10 times over.
“There are 400 applicants on the waiting list for one and two-bedroom houses in Blairgowrie at the moment.”
“We are planning to invest a very large amount of money into this project and bring this wonderful neglected building back to life.
“I feel that our plans treat it in a very sensitive manner.”
He added: “The local residents appear to be concerned about additional traffic being generated. However, I would like to reassure them that their fears are unfounded as we know from our other, similar developments that car ownership is very low. There are also ample parking and turning areas allowed for within the walled site”
The St Stephen’s building is category B-listed and dates from 1841.