A senior council officer believes Perth could become the next Tayside city to undergo a major waterfront redevelopment.
Perth and Kinross members this week instructed officers to test the market for a private company to take over Perth Harbour on a long lease.
But if this fails the port will close after operating out of Friarton Road since the late 1840s.
At the full council meeting it was also agreed to encourage other options for the harbour including recreational use.
Potential housing developments have been ruled out because much of the land is outside a flood defence area.
Mix of business and river use
Leisure use could connect the harbour to Perth’s Moncreiffe Island, believes PKC’s head of planning and development David Littlejohn.
“I think it would be a mix of business spaces, offices, perhaps some hospitality, informal leisure,” he said.
“Perhaps linking across to the island, looking at river use, watersports, kayaking all within the immediate harbour area.
“I think it can be done safely without impeding on some of the industrial use that takes place around the harbour.”
Dundee Waterfront ‘halfway through’
The council’s planning chief told councillors he had experience of waterfront regeneration in both Aberdeenshire and Shetland.
He said: “It’s a long-term process. Dundee Waterfront alone is a 30-year vision to regenerate and it’s about halfway through.”
Mr Littlejohn said redeveloping the harbour would involve “careful consideration as and when leases come up for renewal about the best use for that asset as and when that’s an opportunity.”
He added: “It would be a long-term process but I think there’s some real potential for informal use in and around the harbour in the interim period.”
This followed a report by Barbara Renton, executive director for communities, who suggested the harbour could be replaced by water-based leisure facilities such as sailing, boating and water sports.
But Perthshire butcher Simon Howie, who argues that the harbour has a future, dismissed this notion as “fanciful” due to fragmented ownership of the land.
Area already has water activity centre
One of the harbour’s neighbours is the charity-run Willowgate Activity Centre.
Billed as ‘Perthshire’s premier water based centre’, activities provided include canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, raft building, bush craft and archery.
Team-building events, guided kayak river trips, birthday parties, adult evenings, stag and hen events and highland games are also available.
Facilities include a classroom, meeting room, showers and changing rooms, equipment storage containers and a teaching lochan for water sports.
Storage containers with electricity are available for groups to store their equipment and have a base at the activity centre.
Adam Burns, manager of the centre, said: “The Tay has a lot of potential, and the harbour has a lot of potential.
“We are super-keen to see where that might go.
“It would be great to see the river used more and however we can help with that would be great.”
Conversation