Councillors approve 20-year planning blueprint for Perth

The Perth City Plan 2015-35, which sets out the council’s long term vision to make Perth “one of Europe’s great small cities”, was unanimously approved by Perth & Kinross Council last week.

The £400 million masterplan will be used to inform future planning decisions and investments.

The first “key element” of the plan is a programme of long-term investments in infrastructure including the much-mooted Cross Tay Link Road and principle approaches to the city.

A ‘Smart City’ Prospectus will also be published to provide guidance for developers on the creation of new neighbourhood centres, such as the proposed £1bn Bertha Park community on the edge of Perth.

The second element is a “short-medium term” delivery plan based on eight “big moves” such as attracting inward investment, developing Perth as a “university city” and improving the city centre.

A draft plan was approved by councillors last year and the public were given the chance to have their say on the document between September and October.

A report that went before councillors on Wednesday said: “The overall response to the plan was positive with 67 per cent of respondents indicating they supported the vision to make Perth one of Europe’s great small cities and only 7.8 per cent opposing this.

“The greatest support for the actions related to transport improvements and development of educational courses and facilities by Perth College UHI to unlock the potential for growth of the city and its economy.”

The report went on: “The principal issues raised during discussions with both residents and businesses were lack of clarity on the purpose of the plan, who it was prepared by and for whom.

“Residents were generally reluctant to look at transport alternatives to the car, particularly those from rural areas unless high quality public transport alternatives were available.

“Residents within rural areas were also concerned at potential investment in Perth reducing the potential for investment in their own communities.”

Finally, the document said: “Businesses, agencies, owners and developers supported the vision of the plan.

“However, they felt that the key actions in respect of smart infrastructure needed to be further defined and refined.

“This would be required to reflect specific actions and shorter term actions/big moves in relation to key sectors.

“They agreed that collaborative frameworks between the public and private sector, which shared risk and reward, could help drive forward the economy and improve the performance of the local market.

“Support for this approach should be clearly articulated. They also felt that some of the spatial analysis was unnecessary and that development and city centre management proposals should be better integrated within the plan’s structure.”

Recommending a revised plan accepting these amendments, council leader Ian Miller said: “The plan is not something which will be delivered overnight and we are on the first steps of a long journey. However, I believe that we are more than capable of delivering on our aspirations of being one of Europe’s best small cities.”

The revised Perth City Plan was unanimously approved.