Council bosses are hoping Perth is still in line for £5 million in UK Government funding following Labour’s landslide general election victory.
The Levelling Up money was put up for grabs in the Conservatives’ last budget in the spring.
And Perth and Kinross leaders have yet to hear if Labour is going to follow through with the cash.
Council officials made a case for three schemes in time for the June 3 deadline.
They are the restoration of the Lower City Mills, a new creative arts centre opposite Perth Museum and a Perthshire food and drink showcase on the High Street.
But Rishi Sunak had already called a general election by then.
And his party’s defeat on July 4 has left a question mark over what happens to the funding.
Observers say “Levelling Up” – a Boris Johnson-era pledge to tackle geographical inequality – is being ditched as a concept under Labour.
One new government minister said last week that the term was “only ever a slogan”, which is being “firmly Tippex-ed out”.
So what does that mean for Perth’s Levelling Up ambitions?
Perth and Kinross Council leader Grant Laing said he and colleagues are still counting on the cash coming through.
Perth deserves fair share from Levelling Up or future funding
“We’re still expecting the funding,” Mr Laing told The Courier.
“Certainly there’s been nothing to say it won’t be coming.
“Our officers did really well to come up within the three projects in that timescale. It would be crazy for all that hard work to go to waste.”
Mr Laing said he also hoped the new UK Government would look more positively on Perth and Kinross when it comes to allocating future funding.
“We will be writing to say why we don’t think Perth and Kinross has had nearly its fair share,” he added.
“I’m hoping that the when they are looking at new funding models they will take that into account.”
Mr Laing has previously warned Perth is in danger of becoming “Scotland’s forgotten city”.
The council leader hit out last November, when the Perth West jobs and housing scheme missed out on £10m in Levelling Up money.
It was the second time the project had been snubbed in 2023.
And it left Perth and Kinross the only Scottish area containing a city which had not received funding.
Three Perth projects in line for Levelling Up funds
There was some frustration when the subsequent Levelling Up invitation was announced in March this year.
It came with strict criteria, meaning the council could only spend the money on cultural projects that would bring about city centre regeneration.
It also had to demonstrate that it could deliver all three projects by March 2026.
Officers and councillors agreed on three proposals:
• £3m to restore Perth’s Lower City Mills as a tourist attraction. It follows a previous attempt to re-open the A-listed mill, which collapsed when the scheme missed out on Heritage Lottery funding.
• £1.5m to convert a long-vacant former foundry next to Perth Museum into “The Ironworks” – an exhibition and work space for local makers.
• £500,000 to turn the VisitScotland tourist information centre on Perth High Street into a shopfront for Perthshire food and drink providers.
But one Labour councillor, Alasdair Bailey, said the strict criteria and short deadline meant Perth and Kinross was being forced into “two projects that nobody asked for and one that nobody else would fund”.
Hopes for decision in near future
Under the terms of the Levelling Up bid, the Tory-led Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) would have had to agree to the plans before the money is released.
The department has now been re-branded the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
It is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
The UK Government was unable to say what might replace Levelling Up, or what that will mean for the Perth bid.
But The Courier understands discussions are currently taking place.
And it’s hoped a clearer picture on future regional spending will emerge in the next few weeks.
Conversation