Efforts to cut Perth’s appalling air pollution could take a big step forward this August if plans for a freight centre go ahead.
Perth and Kinross Council is tendering for a contractor to run the centre, which could be based on the city’s Inveralmond Industrial Estate.
It will provide a hub for traders to coordinate deliveries, ensuring vehicles are used to capacity before hitting the roads.
However, one leading trader has warned the centre must not put any city centre shops at even more financial risk.
The local authority hopes the move will cut the number of delivery vehicles entering the city centre, reducing both traffic congestion and pollution emissions.
Although Perth has some good air quality, the city’s heart has been designated as an Air Quality Management Area since 2006 due to the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulates.
Worst-affected areas are traffic bottlenecks such as the junction of Atholl Street/Melville Street/North Methven Street, together with Barrack Street, Tay Street, the Queen’s Bridge and Bridgend.
Figures released by Friends of the Earth last year identified Atholl Street as the sixth most polluted street in Scotland and last month the council changed traffic priorities at junctions in a bid to improve traffic flow.
Plans for the centre have been identified by transport consultant JMP as the most cost-effective option of addressing the air quality issue.
As part of the plans, low emission or electric vehicles will be employed to make deliveries into Perth city centre, reducing the number of individual deliveries for participating retailers by at least 50%.
The idea has been cautiously welcomed by John Bullough, chairman of independent department store McEwens, Perth’s largest city centre retailer.
He told The Courier: “We welcome any initiative will reduce carbon emissions and improve the environment but would advise caution regarding its implementation.
“Perth, like every other British city centre, is extremely vulnerable at the moment due to unfair competition from out of town supermarkets.
“We all want to make Perth and safer and cleaner place but this must be balanced against attracting retailers and customers into our Fair City.
“I hope this initiative is targeting the freight distributors bringing a truck into Perth with a single package, which is an area where we would all agree there is room for improvement.
“Whatever happens, the needs of the shopkeepers who have over the past five years experienced the worst conditions on the High Street in living memory must remain paramount.
“The success of the city and the county depends on the vibrancy of our High Street and must ensure we do not end up with the cleanest but the emptiest city in Scotland.”