A new future for the demolition-threatened Perth City Hall has been unveiled which retains the listed building and gives it a new role as ”the beating heart of the city”.
While councillors will meet in two weeks’ time to debate a proposal to demolish the building and replace it with a civic square, an 11th-hour proposal has emerged which it is claimed could revitalise the centre of Perth.
Conservation architects Simpson and Brown’s project would be managed by Vivian Linacre, a long-term supporter of retention of the hall.
”A permanent market hall, planned and equipped for the purpose and let to first-class stallholders specialising in high-quality food and household goods, does not yet exist in Scotland yet is familiar in many European cities,” said Mr Linacre of the project.
”It will exert a unique attraction to Perth from the whole surrounding region. The building lends itself beautifully to adaptation for this purpose.
”This new style of retailing is complementary to conventional shopping in and around the High Street. Indeed, it will provide much-needed reinforcement in the present economic recession the greater the pressure on consumer expenditure, the greater the public concentration on essentials.
”Together with the additional restaurant and cultural uses envisaged, city hall will become the beating heart of the city, to the benefit of St John’s Kirk at one end and the St John’s Centre at the other.
”A special corporate entity is in process of formation, whose principals are ready to agree terms and conditions with the council for a long lease of the building.
”The promoters are confident that this scheme for conservation of the building will earn support from the authorities, that the project is commercially viable and will enjoy universal popularity. On receipt of the necessary permissions, work on site will be started without delay, for completion within 18 months.”
The future of the city hall has become an increasingly contentious issue in Perth as the building lies empty.
Initial plans to convert the building to retail use failed to materialise and the council has in recent years embraced the idea of a civic square replacing the Edwardian hall, though this has still to be decided upon by councillors. If they back demolition that would then have to be ratified by Historic Scotland.
Mr Linacre says that the new option would ”not cost the council a penny” and in fact would save them the £4 million plus cost of demolishing the hall and constructing a square.
He said that if agreement could be reached with the council, planning and listed consent applications could be lodged within three months.
”The social and economic benefits to Perth would be immense,” said Mr Linacre, a founding member of the British Council of Shopping Centres, who previously entered a retail use scheme into a council-led competition which was passed over in favour of the plan which failed to get off the ground.
The latest plans were distributed to interested parties on Thursday, outlining the new vision and giving financial projections of what income the venture could generate.
In response to the announcement, the council said: ”The council’s proposal to create a city square is based on the findings of an extensive public consultation and an analysis by expert independent consultants.
”The evidence shows that out of all the options already submitted and considered, a city square will deliver the most economic benefit for Perth into the future and create a vibrant cultural hub for the city centre.
”However, any alternative proposal for which a planning application is submitted will be given due consideration, including a rigorous assessment of its financial viability.”