A memorial commemorating Perth’s proud connections with The Black Watch has been approved.
Veterans of the regiment are behind the plan to erect a simple structure on the site of the long-gone barracks and parade ground, now partly taken up by Police Scotland’s Barrack Street headquarters.
It will be a reminder of the Queen’s Barracks which was a Perth landmark for 160 years.
Permission was sought to put a monument on the grass verge to the west of St Ninian’s Cathedral, adjacent to the junction of Atholl Street, Barrack Road and Caledonian Road.
“The proposed monument is relatively modest in size measuring 1.5m by 1m by1.575m with a sloping top,” said a council officer David Niven in a report into the application.
“The structure will be finished in buff anstone and will have a sloping concrete slab atop.
“The plans indicate that a commemorative plaque will be mounted on the structure but no details have been provided.
“The proposed design and position of the proposed development is considered to be acceptable.
“Its position close to the existing footpath is logical as it will provide ease of access for the public.
“It is considered that the small scale of the proposed monument will be relatively modest addition to the existing street scene and will not detract from the character of the conservation area.”
Permission has been granted for the monument to The Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment Association, subject to various conditions including agreement on materials.
Based on old maps of the barracks, the monument will lie at the very centre of the barracks.
The barracks would have been used by soldiers before heading off the Boer War, the two world wars and the Korean war so will still be remembered by many though there is no physical reminder of the facility or where it stood.
The barracks finally closed in 1961 and all trace has disappeared under redevelopment of the city in the intervening years.