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.

New housing plan to regenerate abandoned “asylum” at Perth

The old Murray Royal hospital.
The old Murray Royal hospital.

An ambitious housing plan could breathe new life into a redundant Perth hospital.

The new owners of the vacant Murray Royal building want to build around 70 homes on the 23-acre site.

The A-listed property – the earliest surviving asylum building in Scotland – was declared surplus by NHS Tayside after the launch of the city’s new £75 million hospital in 2013.

An early plan for 250 houses was rejected and owners Rivertree Residential, which recently struck a deal to buy the site from NHS Tayside, have notified Perth and Kinross Council about an impending planning application.

The proposal is to create “up to 70” properties as part of a refurbishment project which will involve the demolition of some newer buildings.

In a letter to planners, agents for the company said: “The proposal relates to residential development at the site.

“Planning permission in principle will be sought to develop up to 70 residential dwelling houses sensitively sited in the grounds of the former Murray Royal Hospital, respecting both the listed building and landscape setting.”

The spokesman said the plan also involved converting the hospital’s Elcho and Birnam wards into flats. A historic chapel building will be retained.

“To clarify, only selective demolition of non-listed buildings across the site within the curtilage of the main hospital buildings are proposed,” the firm’s spokesman added.

The proposal will be unveiled to the public at a consultation event at the former chapel on June 22, from 12 to 7pm.

Feedback will be used to shape a future application for planning consent, likely to be lodged before the end of the year.

The building was first opened as Murray Royal Asylum in 1821 and was expanded twice in its first century.

In October 2013, property group Ryden was commission to develop a masterplan for the site’s redevelopment.

A series of public meetings were held to shape the project. There were concerns from council officers and Historic Scotland to suggestions that the hospital’s Heiton wings could be demolished.

The replacement hospital was opened at a nearby site by then-First Minister Alex Salmond four years ago.

It offers modern mental health facilities for inpatients, outpatients and day patients from across Tayside.