Plans for an outdoor adventure centre in the Carse of Gowrie have been laid before the authorities.
Cabins, camping pods and a host of activities will be offered at the former clay pit at Inchcoonans, near Errol, if planners give the nod to the ambitious scheme.
The scaled-back proposal is the brainchild of local businessman Rod Sim, who runs Tank Driving Scotland at Auchterhouse, near Dundee.
He had originally envisaged tank driving and a military museum at the site but reined in his ambitions after consulting with residents.
Instead, he will offer archery, pitch and putt, wildlife walks, lasertag, trampolining and other pursuits, in a venture which would create over a dozen jobs.
He told The Courier: “We held a planning meeting in Errol hall and took on board the public comments and re-addressed the issue and decided to leave the tank driving at Auchterhouse.
“We’ve gone down the route of an eco-camp and outdoor activity/play area nothing to the extent previously designed. It’s in the hands of the Perth and Kinross Council planners and we will see what they say about it.”
A supporting statement submitted with the planning application offers more detail.
It states: “The applicant’s business will employ six full-time staff and offer some eight part-time jobs and the facility will be presented as a quality experience, managed by a company already established in this sector.
“The Inchcoonans site will add to and compliment the already flourishing outdoor adventure sport industry in Perthshire.
“The extensive outdoor experiences offered by the award-winning firm Nae Limits is a good example of how such businesses have grown with their most recent initiative of the bungee-jumping experience at Killiecrankie and their acclaimed canoeing and white water rafting activities.
“The proposal will fill a further niche in this expanding market and will create a wide range of high-quality attractions to entice more people into the area over an extended period, all to the benefit and enhancement of the local economy.”
It adds: “The applicant had initially intended to develop on a much larger scale, which included the provision of a tank-driving facility and a range of water-based activities.
“However, partly in view of initial concerns from local residents, particularly in regard to the ‘tank-driving’ element, together with the current economic climate, he has decided to retain this facility at his Auchterhouse base in Angus and significantly reduce the scale of his proposals.
“The current proposal is much more modest in scale and covers a reduced area of 1.9ha to include a range of outdoor activities, such as archery, air rifles, pitch and putt, woodland/wildlife walks, airsoft, lasertag, bouncy castles, trampolines, displays and fetes, outdoor camping, team building, fitness education and children’s off-road pedal cars.”
The site would operate seven days a week. The existing access to the public road would be improved and a car park formed for up to 30 vehicles.
The original plan had included a mass of military memorabilia, which would have drawn an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 people to the Carse every year.
As well as tank driving, there had been hopes for a major military museum, heavy machinery from both world wars and interactive displays.
The clay pit, on which the centre will be built if approved by planners later this year, was formerly operated by the nearby Errol Brickworks.