A dazzling £12 million plan to illuminate Perth landmarks has been unveiled.
The ambitious project is being led by the same design team which worked on the world famous Kelpies sculpture at Falkirk. It aims to lure more visitors and investment into Perth, while boosting its bid for City of Culture 2021.
The City of Light Action Plan promises dramatic and colourful lighting at key city centre sites. Council chiefs hope the move will breathe fresh life into the night-time economy, as well as improving safety.
The local authority is also investigating emerging technologies, which could lead to street lighting infrastructure being used to provide wi-fi, security and information services.
If approved, spotlights and projections could be installed at key gateway and architectural sites including the Queen’s Bridge, Perth Cathedral and the sheriff court. Similar set-ups are planned for Tay Street, High Street and Mill Street, beside the soon-to-be reopened Perth Theatre.
Perth and Kinross Council is also experimenting with light art schemes to brighten up city centre vennels. Albert Close, a dark passage linking George Street and Skinnergate, could be fitted with colourful spotlights projecting moving patterns onto the ground.
The Kinnoull Hill tower could also be illuminated during special events.
The ambitious plan will go before councillors next week. They will be urged to approve £100,000 towards a first lighting project and give the go-ahead to investigations of further funding.
According to the action plan drawn up by architectural lighting firm Lightfolio, the entire project would total more than £12million. Although the design team has said it may not be realistic for all parts of the plan to be actioned.
The council would pay about £7.7million and just under £3million would come from the private sector. The remainder would be paid from other sources.
The scheme has already scored financial backing from the Scottish Government.
The local authority, which has been working on the scheme for more than a year, believes it will make Perth more attractive to visitors and lead to future investment.
But the council was forced to defend itself from an angry backlash when early details of the plan emerged earlier this month. Opponents took to social media to vent their anger, when it emerged £100,000 would be spent on lighting at the council’s new look High Street HQ.
Critics said the money could be better spent elsewhere.
Council leader Ian Miller said the lighting plan was part of a wider picture aimed at making Perth into one of Europe’s great small cities.
In a report to go before councillors on Wednesday, the council’s regenerations projects officer Michael Morgan said: “The overall aim of this strategy is to reinforce the attractiveness and ambience within the city, improving the balance between lighting and darkness, and provide a safe environment for its use and enjoyment by achieving coherent lighting schemes that are well conceived, designed and maintained.”
A spokesman for Lightfolio, which designed dramatic lighting for the Kelpies and drew up Perth’s City of Light plan, said: “Whilst the action plan outlines a number of proposals for each initiative, these are only at a concept stage. Perth and Kinross Council officers will use the initial treatment proposals as the basis for dialogue with third parties and the development of lighting briefs.”
