More than 130 caravans have been installed on Perth’s South Inch for a five-day Christian Travellers event.
But the gathering, which has attracted hundreds of people to the city centre park, does not have consent from Perth and Kinross Council.
The event began on Sunday and finishes on Friday morning.
It has been organised by the Light and Life Missions evangelical movement.
The UK-wide group has its Perth church in Craigie Hall, Wilson Street.
A tent on Lesser South Inch is currently the venue for daily prayer, gospel and bible study classes. Baptisms are also taking place.
Drone footage on the group’s Facebook page shows the scale of the gathering.
Dispute over vehicles on the park
Behind the scenes, however, there is a dispute between Light and Life Missions and PKC.
The organisation did not apply for a licence after a meeting with the council a few weeks ago.
“They wanted us to put all the cars and vehicles in the Tarmac car park,” said a spokesperson for the group.
“But there’s 130 caravans here, never mind all the cars.
“They would never fit in that car park, so it was game over.
“They were asking us to jump through hoops that we simply couldn’t go through.
“They just don’t want us here, which is the vibe of the meeting we had with them.”
‘They just don’t want to work with us’
The event was first held in Perth in 2019.
But last year’s second gathering took place without consent from the council.
As with this year, the stumbling block was not being allowed to park vehicles on the field.
The spokesperson says that in 2019 the group received consent after applying for a Christian gospel event.
“But as soon as they found out we were Travellers they didn’t want us here,” they claimed.
The group believes it is being treated unfairly compared to organisers of other events.
“At the circus last month there were 30 cars and loads of caravans,” they said.
“But they would only let us have vehicles to set up the event.
“They would then have to leave immediately.
“After we leave everything is going to be spotlessly clean, but they just don’t want to work with us.”
Council: ‘No authorisation granted’
The group says it would be happy to host its event at another field but an alternative is still to be found.
A spokesperson for PKC said it welcomes events in its parks and green spaces.
They added: “We met with the organisers several weeks ago regarding their plans and discussed the application process required by the council with them.
“But no park events application was forthcoming and therefore no authorisation has been granted for this event.
“Officers from Community Greenspace have engaged with the organisers again this week and plan to meet them on site later this week.
“We have booking arrangements in place to ensure events are safe, legal and appropriate for the venue.
“It is regrettable that these arrangements were not followed by the organisers in this case, but we will continue to engage with them now that they are on site.”
Non travellers welcome
Despite the dispute, Light and Life Missions says the event is proving a success.
“Our goal is to preach the gospel,” a spokesperson said.
“We also speak to the wider community and do work for the homeless.
“People in Perth have been absolutely fine with us.
“We haven’t had any problems to speak of.
“They have been really supportive.”
Light and Life Missions has been running for 50 years.
“The event has been growing because we have been spreading the gospel and more people have come to Christ,” the spokesperson added.
“Travellers from all over the country are here but we accept everyone regardless of their culture or where they are from.
“Non travellers are welcome as well.”
