Today’s letters to The Courier.
Sir, Perth City Hall became obsolete in 2005 when the Perth Concert Hall opened. That is six years ago.
It must have been (should have been) obvious then to the council administration that the City Hall would have to go.
We have had six weary years of consultation and obfuscation in order to pass the ultimate decision, like the unwanted parcel at a kids’ party, to someone else.
When the decision was made to build the Concert Hall it was because the City Hall was no longer fit for purpose.
I have danced there on a Saturday night. My wife has won singing prizes there. Those days have gone, though.
When the controversy over the Wharfside regeneration of the City Hall was at its height I took the trouble to go to Leeds to look at the Leeds Corn Exchange. Wharfside was involved in the regeneration of this building.
What I found in Leeds Corn Exchange was a marvellous oval building with a domed glass roof with a deserved grade one listing. It is worth going to see purely as an architectural experience. In comparison, Perth City Hall has all of the architectural attributes of a decorated brick.
Wharfside appears to have made a successful job of the conversion of the building. It was and is, however, a commercial disaster.
At that time it had a maximum of six tenants. It is still to my knowledge, and two or three years later, not nearly half full.
Think what a disaster we could have had in the City Hall by this time had it gone ahead as a shopping mall.
Perth doesn’t need this building. As a building it’s dead. The recent other idea, to retain the entrance and little else, like leaving a decapitated head lying in the square, would simply have a lumbering portico looking over King Edward Street leading to-nothing.
Alistair Clark.Rait,Perthshire.
Too many social homes lost
Sir, Shelter’s Gordon MacRae is absolutely correct (August 1) to argue that increased provision of social housing is the answer to the crucial need for affordable rented homes with security of tenure.
The Scottish Government needs to invest in building more social housing and also in improving and making use of what we have.
As the dust from demolished multis settles on Dundee, we need to ask why, in the last two decades, Scotland has, on average, demolished 1000 more social homes each year than it has built.
In the council’s plan for the Hilltown area, the sites occupied by over a thousand council homes in the Alexander and Derby Street multis, and adjacent buildings, are marked for around 420 new houses, of which fewer than a quarter would be socially rented.
Sarah Glynn.5B Castle Terrace,Broughty Ferry.
Weeds on Law a disgrace
Sir, I was one of the hundreds of people who populated Dundee Law to watch the city’s skyline change yet again as the Alexander Street multis were demolished. There seemed general agreement amongst the people I was standing next to that this was definitely for the best.
The same sense of approval, however, was not in evidence concerning what can only be described as the disgraceful, unkempt state of the Law.
Weeds, in some places shoulder high, covered the slopes. Parents and grandparents said they once enjoyed a game of football there. The look of disbelief on the faces of the children said it all.
A tree brought down in May by the severe gales still lies stretched across the ramshackle steps leading to the summit
Councillors and others seem to see no irony in the use of a graphic in the shape of the Law on their official letterheads.
Frank Kenneth.6 Lawside Avenue,Dundee.
Support attractive small shops
Sir, The Courier reports on Sainsbury’s planning application for a store at Dundee’s Hawkhill (July 29). At first sight this looks very attractive, particularly as it is breaking up the near-monopoly of Tesco’s in the west end. The prospect of new jobs is more than welcome.
However, on second thoughts, a Sainsbury supermarket will certainly pose a serious threat to the great number and diversity of shops on Perth Road.
I think we cannot cherish enough the current situation on Perth Road, with its flourishing and well-loved shops. I think this situation is fairly unique.
However, there is clearly no way these privately owned outlets can compete with a national supermarket chain.
So in the end we will see the number of shops threatened. All convenience stores, butchers, fruit shops, bakeries, etc., will go.
Shops on Blackness Street are even under a bigger threat. They already suffer from the fact that Blackness Road is narrow and parking difficult.
Finally, I am sceptical about new jobs generated. If Sainsbury’s competition forces small shops to close down, we will eventually face an actual cut in the number of jobs.
Let us keep the west end diverse and attractive.
M. Poch.West End,Dundee.
Sheep fled from meteorite
Sir, Further to the report (July 27) about the Strathmore meteorite, my father, William Dawson, then aged 18, was with workmates in a field at Easter Essendy when a great bang caused a flock of sheep to scatter.
Subsequently, when the reports appeared about the mysterious noise, and the damage to Keithick Lodge, they realised what had happened.
Later, at the spot from where the sheep had fled, the largest piece of the meteorite was found. It is now in the Royal Scottish Museum, with a model in Perth Museum.
Peter Dawson.Fochabers.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.