The project team behind the £5 million regeneration of a much-loved Perth building should be congratulated on a number of levels.
Not only have they saved the B-listed Caledonian Road school, they have found it a productive new use – it has been converted into 24 flats – and even managed to design an adjacent block of 21 flats of some architectural merit which complements the old.
While a scheme like this doesn’t come cheap – it would no doubt have been more cost effective to raze the old school to the ground and start afresh – it shows what can be achieved with a little imagination.
Retaining and restoring the historic built environment while finding a new use is the holy grail of heritage watchdogs, though sometimes very difficult to achieve.
But for the reluctance of Historic Environment Scotland and its predecessors to see Perth City Hall swept away and replaced with a civic square, the Edwardian building would be long gone.
Their refusal to allow demolition eventually forced a new use to be agreed and now Perth will soon boast a heritage tourist attraction (hopefully housing the Stone of Destiny) which could attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.
The conversion of St Paul’s Church in South Methven Street into an events venue is another example of a much-loved landmark being reinvented for a new age.
This is an issue that is not going to go away – a number of dilapidated buildings around the city stand sad testament to an uncertain future with their future hanging in the balance.
Interesting buildings continue to be lost despite the best efforts of many with the Edwardian purpose-built motor garage on York Place (possibly Scotland’s earliest example) being demolished to leave a gap site in the not so distant past.
With the same kind of imagination shown by the Caledonia Housing Association with the Caledonian Road School, one could imagine the frontage of the garage at least being retained in a new build – and a significant building would have been saved for future generations.
