Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Perth residents slam plans for ‘second-rate theme park’ at Murrayshall

From left, Caroline Cooper, Philip Cooper and Ronnie Hamill at a site next to their homes earmarked for glamping pods.
From left, Caroline Cooper, Philip Cooper and Ronnie Hamill at a site next to their homes earmarked for glamping pods.

Murrayshall residents say plans to develop the area risk turning a Perth beauty spot into a “second-rate theme park”.

“Once built upon, this important green belt land will be lost forever,” says Philip Cooper.

Philip is among residents of a tiny hamlet at the centre of the plans who fear proposed homes, lodges and glamping pods would destroy the character of the estate.

Murrayshall Country Estate intends to submit fresh plans to expand the venue having withdrawn a previous £15 million proposal.

But residents say the revised £30m proposal is “worse than the previous scheme”.

Initial designs indicate it could include holiday lodges, glamping pods, outdoor pursuits, spa facilities and solar arrays.

From left, Philip Cooper, Caroline Cooper, Ronnie Hamill and Anne MacDougall. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Murrayshall general manager Gary Silcock says diversifying the estate would have “a positive effect on the local economy, generating significant inward investment and the creation of employment as well as job security for existing employees.”

The estate is currently home to a four star hotel, golf course and driving range.

‘Increased risk’ on roads

Philip says: “Regrettably this scheme appears to be worse than the previous scheme.

“It is vital to protect this environment for future generations.”

Residents we spoke to say protecting green belt land is their main concern.

They say the area supports protected species including red squirrels and pine martens.

And they say the Murrayshall plans would create more traffic on the single track Balcraig Road running past their homes.

“This will cause dangerous driving conditions,” says Philip.

“The increased risk not only to road users, but walkers, families with children, dog owners, cyclists and horse riders.”

Glamping not glamorous say residents

Initial drawings seen by residents indicate there are plans for 25 glamping pods and facilities for ‘outdoor pursuits’ near their houses.

Meanwhile, the hotel has proposed 40 self catering holiday lodges at a site including the existing driving range.

Philip describes the plans as “extremely oppressive” and says they would create “inevitable associated noise, light pollution and litter”.

He adds: “The extremely vague outline presented by the hotel falls short of quality development and resembles more of a second-rate theme park.”

Ronnie Hamill, Caroline Cooper, Philip Cooper and Anne MacDougall at the site where holiday lodges could be built.

However, Gary from Murrayshall says there has been “careful thought” over how to make the business sustainable for the future.

He argues: “The land identified for development is already in use.

“A full report on the viability of the plans has been instructed and will be available as part of any future planning application.”

So far the hotel has submitted a Proposal of Application Notice to Perth and Kinross Council.

“We will presenting updated proposals to the public during our second in-person consultation event on Tuesday January 31, 2023.

“We look forward to continuing positive engagement with local residents and stakeholders as we bring updated plans forward.

“The feedback we continue to obtain over the coming months will help to shape and inform the final proposals for the site.”

Conversation