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.

Perth council offices in £1 sale deal set to reopen as boutique hotel

Plans for the 1-5 High Street transformation are expected to be lodged with Perth and Kinross Council very soon

1-5 High Street exterior, a traditional three storey building with turrets close to River Tay
The former council base at 1-5 High Street, Perth, could be converted into a new boutique hotel. Image: Kenny Smith

A former council office building in Perth that was offered to a developer to buy for £1 is set to reopen as a boutique hotel.

Plans for 1-5 High Street are expected to be lodged with Perth and Kinross Council shortly.

It comes two years after councillors voted to offload the landmark in a controversial £1 deal.

The council’s planning chief David Littlejohn updated councillors on the progress on Wednesday.

He said: “I am delighted to advise that the planning application for the conversion of 1-5 High Street into a boutique hotel is currently being prepared by the developer with an opening scheduled, subject to planning permission, for mid-2026.”

1-5 High Street exterior in Perth
The former Perth and Kinross Council building at 1-5 High Street. Image: Steve MacDougall / DC Thomson

Perth and Kinross Council came under fire for the sale of 1-5 High Street when the plans emerged in 2020.

Opposition councillors questioned why the authority was selling offices for £1 when it was renting space in Pullar House for £2.5m a year.

The rent on Pullar House has since risen to £3.2m.

But officials declared 1-5 High Street was not suitable for “efficient office accommodation”.

And they said developers were set to invest £7m in the premises, while the council would provide £1.9m.

The vote to sell went ahead in private in 2022.

Perth and Kinross Council logo on wall of council HQ in Perth
Perth and Kinross Council offered to sell 1-5 High Street for £1. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

Perth and Kinross Council later confirmed they had agreed the council should enter into a lease agreement with Henley Homes.

The deal would give the developer the option to buy the building once the work is completed.

The council confirmed on Wednesday that the deal had gone ahead.

1-5 High Street not only change ahead for Perth city centre

The plans for 1-5 High Street emerged as the full council signed off a new ‘wish list’ of proposals for Perth city centre.

The blueprint, revealed by The Courier last Wednesday, could included the part-demolition of the St John’s shopping centre.

Architect drawing showing Perth city centre with part demolished St John's shopping centre and new open space close to Perth Museum
How Perth city centre might look with the St John’s centre. Image: Perth and Kinross Council/The Urbanists.

It also includes suggestions to breathe new life into landmarks such as the empty Debenhams building and the former McEwens store.

And the vision proposes the creation of a series of quarters – such as a Station Quarter and a Harbour Quarter – with new attractions for locals and visitors.

Architect drawing showing Perth harbour quarter
The proposal for Perth’s Harbour Quarter. Perth and Kinross Council/The Urbanists Date; 28/08/2024

The suggestions, from consultants The Urbanists, are all ideas at this stage.

But councillors were told: “It is important that the council has a range of  ‘shovel ready’ projects ready to be delivered as and when funding, especially external funding, becomes available.”

Councillors raised a number of ambitions for Perth city centre which were not in the blueprint.

These included a tram network, and plans for the former What Every Woman Wants store in Scott Street.

The public will now be consulted on the document.

And the plan will be brought back to the council in December.

Conversation