A PERTH businessman last night claimed the demolition of the City Hall in Perth would ruin him and that this would be “calamitous” to the city’s “caf quarter”.
Willie White, who runs Willows coffee shop and restaurant in St John’s Place, slammed recent comments made by Councillor Alan Grant, depute leader of the SNP group in Perth and Kinross Council, who favours knocking the Edwardian listed building down and suggested that alternative uses could be made for it.
Mr Grant favours the plan to demolish the building a proposal previously favoured by Perth and Kinross Council.
The local authority had wanted to press ahead and replace City Hall with a civic square, but this had to be put on the backburner after Historic Scotland recommended to the Scottish Government that more effort should be made to find a new future for the building.
The matter has been a contentious issue for years in Perth, with the Perth City Market Trust (PCMT) putting forward its vision for the historic building to accommodate a food hall and associated uses, attracting support from several local businessmen, including Mr White.
Last night, he claimed demolition of City Hall would be detrimental to many neighbouring businesses in what is locally known as Perth’s caf quarter in St John’s Place.
“I can say that the process of demolishing the City Halls and creating a square would ruin my business long before the physical works were complete,” he said.
“The disruption it would have caused to surrounding businesses, some of which rely on outdoor dining in the caf quarter, would be calamitous.”
He continued: “The PCMT’s idea of having a tourist information centre within their facility is, in itself, such an obvious idea, but one which the council has done nothing to achieve.
“Also, their proposal to make the Lesser Hall available for flower shows, craft fairs, exhibitions and wedding receptions will restore valuable activities which have been lost since the closure of the building in 2005.
“I believe that the trust’s proposal will benefit the surrounding traders and the town centre generally, much more than any square ever could.
“As Historic Scotland has now firmly squashed the demolition idea, the time has come for the council to drop it and get fully behind the most viable option for reusing the existing building.”
Architect James Simpson has called on the council to back a vision, which has been endorsed by Prince Charles, to create a “destination attraction’’ to reverse Perth’s slide as an attractive shopping destination.
The local authority’s three-month marketing period for the building ended on November 28 and a number of notes of interest in developing the building were submitted.
It was not disclosed just how many people had shown interest, but PCMT has outlined its plan to redevelop the building.
The trust wants to open up the existing building and integrate a permanent food market hall into what it believes will become a vibrant and thriving market square.
Members also plan to incorporate, on each side of the main entrance from King Edward Street, a tourist shop and a heritage centre. In addition, the trust will create a hub for local youth enterprise at the gallery area level, restore community use of the Lesser Hall, and create a rooftop restaurant with panoramic views.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said their “priority” for Perth city centre is regeneration and the provision of jobs.
“The council is extremely keen to see the issue of City Hall brought to a conclusion that will be beneficial for all residents and city centre businesses,” he said.
“A detailed report will go before councillors in 2013.”
preoch@thecourier.co.uk