An ageing housing block with a tarnished reputation will be regenerated to complement plans for a £30 million cinema and shopping complex on the edge of Perth city centre.
St Catherine’s Square recently hit the headlines when it became a no-go-zone for postal workers.
In recent years, some of the 54 flats have been used as emergency accommodation for the city’s homeless population.
Perth and Kinross Council is planning an overhaul of the block, to ensure it fits in with the massive Mill Quarter development earmarked for neighbouring land. Bosses also hope to address concerns about a high number of empty, hard-to-fill properties.
The Mill Quarter project, which is scheduled to open next year, will feature a state-of-the-art multi-screen cinema, a mix of bars, restaurants and shops, as well as 58 new homes.
The development is being progressed by Espresso Property and will be built on the nearby Thimble Row car park.
The local authority is spending £7,650 on a feasibility study to support the “proposed regeneration and environmental improvement works” to all flats at St Catherine’s.
Glasgow-based ECD Architects have been tasked with carrying out the study and will report back to officers later this year.
Perth City Centre councillor Peter Barrett, who heads the authority’s housing committee, said: “The council is looking for proposals for the regeneration of St Catherine’s Square.
“Despite having a great High St location there is a high number of vacancies and the square is becoming harder to let. I believe there is real potential for regeneration and transformation here.”
The Lib Dem councillor added: “With Espresso Property’s multiplex-cinema, retail and restaurant development at Thimble Row, right opposite the flats and the improvements starting to take hold at St Paul’s, the time is right to consider how best to invest in the properties to further energise and re-animate this part of the city centre.
“I am looking forward to seeing the proposals in due course.”
The move has been welcomed by residents at the block.
Tom Burgess, who has stayed at St Catherine’s for more than 30 years, said: “The flats seem to be in decent condition, but the paving outside and some of the drainage does need some attention.
“I’d be interested to hear what the plans involve.”
Another resident added: “It’s about time. The flats were last done up properly in the early 1990s and some of them are in a sorry state.”
In 2013, councillors agreed to move homeless people into empty flats.
Last year, Royal Mail said it would no longer deliver mail to all properties in the square and instead asked tenants to pick up their post from the delivery office on Edinburgh Road.
It followed an assault on a female postal worker two years ago. The Royal Mail later agreed to re-start deliveries after a series of safeguards were put in place.