Planners have given a thumbs up to Perthshire Rugby Club plans to improve their pitches at the North Inch in Perth,
The club wants to install new drainage measures, along with floodlighting and landscaping works.
It’s the second time it’s applied for permission to carry out the works.
The last application was withdrawn last year following concerns about public access and the use of Perth common good land.
The previous plan featured hedging “to dissuade the public from walking their dogs and misusing the surface”.
Planners say this could have brought it into conflict with Scotland’s ‘right to roam’ legislation.
But there are no hedges in the new design.
And so councillors are being urged to approve the latest application when they meet to discuss it on Wednesday.
A report to Perth and Kinross Council’s planning committee says: “The hedging proposed as part of the previous application is now omitted and there is no intention to enclose any of the pitches, meaning public access is maintained.
“There may be a period of time when the development works are taking place that the land will not be available for public use. But this will be limited and temporary.”
Perthshire Rugby Club plans ‘could boost North Inch flood resilience’
Perthshire Rugby Club has four pitches next to Bell’s Sports Centre at the North Inch.
But only one has floodlights at present, which means it takes a punishing in the winter.
Under the plans, the three pitches closest to Bell’s Sports Centre will be dug up on phases so new drainage can be installed.
The works are likely to take two to three years.
And planners say new drainage channels and permeable surfaces could improve the overall flood resilience of the area.
The North Inch has a long history of flooding, most recently in October 2023 when the nearby floodgates were left open.
Bell’s Sports Centre was submerged, and nearby homes and businesses suffered major damage.
North Inch history must be considered
Floodlighting will be installed around the first and third pitches next to Bell’s.
A total of 14 new poles are proposed, all 15m tall, which is the same height as the existing floodlights.
These are said to be “slender, neutral in colour, and positioned to blend with surrounding trees reducing their visibility”.
The land is owned by the council. And as a common good asset, any changes will also have to be approved by Perth Common Good Fund Committee as well as Perth and Kinross Council Community Greenspace.
Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust has has also advised that the North Inch is recorded as the site of the Battle of the Clans in 1396 and the execution site of witches in the 17th century.
This, and other historical activity, means buried remains may be present and this will have to be assessed before work can start.
Conversation