Latest news with #PerthandKinrossCouncil
Daily Record
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Perth fire victims offered financial support from Perth and Kinross Council
The local authority has pledged £250,000 to help those most affected Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) will immediately allocate £250,000 to help Perth residents and businesses impacted by the devastating fire on Scott Street which tragically claimed the life of one man. The Finance and Resources Committee today unanimously agreed to allocate the funding from the council's earmarked reserve for Communities. At the Wednesday, June 18 meeting, councillors were asked to approve the financial move to support the local authority's response to and recovery from the fire. It comes after a fire broke out at 41 Scott Street in the early hours of Saturday, June 14, destroying the entire sandstone building resulting in the loss of several homes and a popular pub, The Royal Bar. Around 50 households have been displaced and several businesses have had to close, including the neighbouring That Bar and Loft Nightclub. Tabling the motion to make the funding available, Perth and Kinross Council leader Grant Laing said it was important the local authority helped those most affected. The SNP leader said: "It is still early days, and it is likely that there will be a call for other funding, but it is important that the council stands with our citizens and communities in their hour of need. "So today I am proposing the immediate allocation of £250,000 from the Communities earmarked reserve to support those very communities. This initial package will provide enhanced support for people and for businesses as well as recognise that the council is incurring additional costs too. "Specifically, as well as augmenting the Scottish Welfare Fund and Financial Insecurity Fund, this investment will assist residents affected by rent shortfalls, who are not eligible for other support. "For businesses directly impacted by the demolition and closures, funding to support their immediate recovery costs as well as future expenses linked to reopening or relocation. "Looking ahead, we may also look at how we encourage footfall back into the areas affected. "And finally, resources for the immediate council response including, but not restricted to, traffic management, additional staff costs, building safety and homelessness. "Clearly the council's response is still evolving. Therefore I further move that responsibility for the allocation of this funding will be delegated to the chief finance officer who will provide the committee with updates on its use at future meetings." The move comes following last week's announcement the Scottish Government had activated the Bellwin Scheme. He said discussions between council officers and civil servants around wider financial support were ongoing. Cllr Laing added: "However, that will take time. "This motion is about getting financial support out to people and business now." The motion was seconded by Finance and Resources Committee convener Stewart Donaldson and received the unanimous support of councillors. Perth City Centre ward councillor Peter Barrett "wholeheartedly" supported the motion and praised the council response, which included a drop-in session on Tuesday for those impacted by the fire and subsequent road and building closures. The Liberal Democrat councillor said: "I attended the drop-in event yesterday and was again really heartened by the council's ability to have all key agencies and essential support services gathered under one roof to assist the victims, the traumatised displaced residents and the businesses forced into closure." "We need to be there for them. So the measures proposed in this motion are vital if we are to reduce the stress, the anguish and loss that people have suffered and are suffering. We cannot eliminate that but we can do our best to support people through the coming months." Conservative group leader John Duff thanked Cllr Laing for bringing the motion to council. Cllr Duff added: "The consequences of the fatal and catastrophic fire in Scott St are going to be with us for a long time to come. "As a council, we have a duty to respond with assistance and I'm glad we've moved quickly to progress this initial funding." Deputy council leader Eric Drysdale, who represents the Perth City Centre ward, added: "Many have lost everything they had. "Others in neighbouring properties have also had to face significant challenges which will continue until they are able to get home safely, but the consequences of this tragedy will doubtless continue to affect them for months and years to come. "Then there are the businesses who have had to close and who may not have had business interruption insurance, and also their employees will potentially be adversely impacted. "Of course the financial effects are one thing, but we must also remember that one family has lost something even more precious, the life of a loved one, and I know they are grieving deeply as we all strive to take forward this recovery phase."
STV News
2 days ago
- STV News
School 'lost' autistic girl for entire day before she was found in toilet
A school in Perth has admitted failings after staff 'lost' a pupil with autism for more than six hours before she was found in a toilet. The girl, who attends Oakbank Primary School in Perth, was mistakenly marked absent and left unsupervised for an entire school day. After she was absent on Thursday, June 19, the school's principal misinterpreted an email on Friday morning from the child's parent about her absence as confirmation she would also be absent that day. But the pupil was chaperoned to school and arrived after 9.15am via the main entrance, where a 'handover' process regularly takes place. She attends the specialist intensive support provision within the school full-time, but was not escorted to class by a member of staff as per the procedure. The girl, who also has anxiety, made her way into a toilet without being detected by staff and spent six hours in a cubicle on the hottest day of the year so far in Scotland. In a report following an investigation by the school, the head teacher admitted the child was 'mistakenly marked absent', was not registered, and the parents did not receive notification of the absence. Despite multiple staff members accessing the toilet area, no one noticed her presence. She was only found when the taxi chaperone arrived again at 3pm to collect her, with the driver told by staff they thought she was absent. The girl was located 'calm and safe, playing on her iPad', according to the report. Her parents say they were contacted by the school at around 4pm. They raised a formal complaint with the school, which has been upheld, and have contacted the head of education at Perth and Kinross Council. The school admitted failings in dealing with late arrivals, mistakenly marking pupils absent, a lack of communication between staff and to parents and failures in the handover process. The report also found there was an over-reliance on informal communication, whereby verbal confirmations were accepted. The school conducted an investigation and has implemented new procedures, including all pupils being required to come through the main entrance. The parents say this is unacceptable as their child has special sensory needs, and children with ASD often struggle in loud, busy, crowded places. A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: 'We cannot comment on the individual circumstances of our pupils, however any situation which adversely impacts on the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in our schools is of significant concern to us. 'In such circumstances, we will investigate in line with our policies and work with parents and carers to understand why any incident occurred and to take meaningful steps towards resolution to prevent any recurrence.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The National
20-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Community pub developed from old school in Perth and Kinross opens
The CornerStone Rannoch will officially open on Sunday, June 22. Formerly known as The Hub, the community-owned bar and restaurant will welcome the Kinloch Rannoch community in for a sneak peak on Saturday afternoon before officially opening to the wider public from 10am on Sunday. Back in September 2022, Rannoch Community Trust was granted planning permission to develop an £830,000 community hub in a former outdoors centre and school. READ MORE: SNP MSP Fergus Ewing to stand as independent at next Scottish Parliament election The consent was branded a 'major milestone' as the trust then sought to secure the remainder of the funding needed to complete the project at the Victorian building on Allt Mor Place. Originally built as the village school in 1840, it closed when a new school was opened in Kinloch Rannoch in 1965. In the 1980s it was transformed into a residential outdoors centre until Perth and Kinross Council deemed it 'surplus to requirement' and closed it in 2019. In July 2020, Perth and Kinross councillors voted to sell the former outdoors centre for £75,000 to Rannoch Community Trust to transform it into a multi-purpose facility for the community. A year later – in July 2021 – ownership of the building and grounds was legally transferred from Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) to Rannoch Community Trust. (Image: The CornerStone) Planning permission for the trust to develop it into a community-owned bar/restaurant was granted in September 2022, under delegated powers. The CornerStone features a social enterprise café/bar, manager's accommodation, office space, a meeting room, an outdoor seating area, new footbridge and a playpark. It will be run by a mixture of both paid and volunteer staff. The building was designed by Perth-based Studio East Architects to be 'as energy efficient as possible'. A spokesperson for The CornerStone said: 'Initially, we will be serving drinks only, until we hook a great chef onboard, so until then you can enjoy local beers on tap and so much more, we can't wait to host you in the heart of our village.' (Image: The CornerStone) There is also a meeting room with WiFi. The spokesperson added: 'Our flexible workspaces catering to groups or individuals is also now available to book: Work — The Cornerstone 'Our new website offers lots of information you might be interested in, so please feel free to take a look around there, or pop in to say hello, we'll be proud to give you a warm welcome.' Highland Perthshire ward councillor John Duff is delighted and said it looks 'fabulous'. The Conservative councillor said: 'I am delighted that the aspirations of the community have been achieved and that it will soon have this excellent venue for locals and visitors to come together, relax and socialise. 'The conversion of the former outdoor centre looks fabulous and I applaud the continued efforts of the community to deliver this exceptional facility providing food, drink, meeting and work space. I look forward to visiting the CornerStone myself in the near future.' Rannoch Community Trust was awarded £134,660 from the Scottish Government's Scottish Land Fund Award to cover the purchase of the building, legal expenses and essential repairs. It also received £250,000 from the UK Government's Community Ownership Fund and £308,000 from the Scottish Government's Place Based Investment Programme, which is aimed at supporting community-led regeneration.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dozens to be rehomed as Perth fire flat faces demolition
Dozens of residents will need to be rehomed in the aftermath of a fatal flat fire in officials told BBC Scotland News the entire building on the corner of Scott Street and South Street must be demolished as a result of the Eric Drysdale, deputy leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said 50 families of varying sizes were affected and significant disruption in the area would last for months. A man died and several others, including an eight-year-old girl, were injured in the fire, which broke out at about 01:50 on Saturday. Cllr Drysdale said the building suffered a heavy amount of structural said: "The whole building will have to come down, every bit of it. "It's a large building with four flats above and shops underneath. The whole of it is a goner, I'm afraid."It's essential the demolition takes place as safely as possible and that means disruption to traffic and businesses and residents for a prolonged period." Residents who had lived in the building will not be able to collect any possessions that survived the blaze others in surrounding properties face "being displaced for a prolonged period", Cllr Drysdale added: "That will involve them being rehoused as locally as possible. "Around 50 families will be rehomed, ranging from one to three or four people [in each family].Cllr Drysdale said the local authority would have to "step up" to support those affected, and asked any landlords with available properties to contact the council if they could around the area will likely be closed for Sunday Kieran Gibson and partner Ellen Fulton told BBC Scotland News that they lost nearly all their possessions in the fire, and were staying with family Gibson said he feared having to make the choice between jumping out the window and staying in the flat and risking being burnt to death as the flames took hold. The couple were rescued about 25 minutes after raising the alarm with emergency Drysdale said it was still too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.A temporary rest centre has been set up at the city's North Inch community from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service worked through the night into Saturday morning to extinguish the firefighters, one of whom was struck by falling masonry, were given medical treatment.
Daily Record
16-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Plans for Perthshire solar farm the size of 140 football pitches refused
Perth and Kinross Council felt the "excessive" scale had not been fully justified for such a "significant" loss of prime agricultural land A planning application for a massive 49.9 MW Perthshire solar farm - the size of around 140 football pitches - has been unanimously refused by Perth and Kinross councillors. Perth and Kinross Council's (PKC) Planning and Placemaking Committee met to consider the application - submitted by Solar 2 Ltd - on Wednesday, June 11. Elected members upheld the reasons recommended for refusal by council planners that it would result in a "significant" loss of prime agricultural land and its "excessive" scale had not been fully justified. Atmos Consulting submitted plans to PKC, on behalf of Solar 2, to develop Collace Solar Farm on around 100 hectares of land 500m north west of East Saucher House, Kinrossie. Presenting officers' report of handling on the application to councillors, PKC's Major Applications and Enforcement team leader Sean Panton said: "Unfortunately we are recommending refusal of the application before you. "Whilst National Planning Framework 4 and the Perth and Kinross Local Development Plan 2 offers support for renewable energy proposals, on this occasion the loss of prime agricultural land at this scale is not considered to have been suitably justified." He added: "The site is located approximately one kilometre north of the Sidlaw Hills Special Landscape Area and is also in close proximity to a number of historical assets including a number of listed buildings and the Kinrossie Conservation Area. "There are 82,000 solar panels proposed." Mr Panton said Solar 2 was questioned as to why "so many solar panels were required when this amount of panels would exceed a 49.9MW output". He told councillors: "The response was that it was commonplace to overplant solar farms. Consequently, we're of the view that 82,000 panels is an overprovision and this number of panels could be reduced obtaining the same output but with less prime agricultural land intake." The solar panels would reach a maximum height of just over three metres above ground level, as they tilt. They would be supported by an aluminium frame mounted vertically into the ground to a depth of around two metres with the edge of the solar arrays varying in height above the ground but with a minimum clearance of about one metre. The panels would rotate vertically towards the sun from about 60 degrees below the horizontal when the sun is at its lowest to horizontal when the sun is at its highest. As well as the solar panels, the proposal included plans for inverters, a substation, a substation compound, two containers, fencing, CCTV and access tracks. There were 89 letters of objection and four letters of support for the proposal. Objector Ian Thoms was born and raised in the area and has spent the past 11 years back there with his wife. He said the proposal was "poorly sited" and there were "better alternatives near where the energy is actually required". Mr Thoms cited a petition - with over 300 signatures - launched by Collace Solar Objection Group. The group is calling for Perth and Kinross Council to "protect rural Perthshire" and "pause all solar development approvals until a robust, location-sensitive, and proportionate planning framework is in place—one that prioritises rooftop and brownfield solar, protects agricultural land, and mandates solar recycling measures". He told councillors: "Walking along the core paths near our home, I often meet neighbours and strangers out enjoying the landscape. People come here for the peace, the view of the hills and the living countryside. "This would all be fundamentally altered by an industrial-scale solar installation with at least 40 years of high fencing, CCTV and metal infrastructure blighting the countryside. "The development would directly dominate the outlook from our homes, core paths and adjacent roads turning a living, working landscape into an industrial one." He added: "This project is one of 11 similar proposals in the Strathmore area alone. We need a more coherent, balanced approach." Fellow objector Jonathan Simpson said: "Scotland has over 9000 hectares of vacant and derelict land, yet this developer proposes to industrialise actively farmed prime land. "Before turning to ground-mounted panels, we should prioritise solar on rooftops, brownfield sites and existing industrial infrastructure followed by poor quality soils." Solar 2 project manager John Moisey argued it was a "temporary condition" and the land could continue to be used for "grazing beneath the panels". The report of handling stated it was anticipated the solar farm would operate for up to 40 years then all infrastructure would be removed and the site reinstated to its former condition. Mr Moisey said the 40-year set-aside could potentially "enhance" the soil by allowing it to "rest and regenerate" through a reduction in ploughing and ground disturbance. He told councillors the energy generated would meet the energy demand of "over 11,000 homes" and be fed directly back into the local grid via a distribution connection at Coupar Angus. Independent councillor Dave Cuthbert moved for refusal. It was seconded by Conservative councillor Keith Allan. The proposal was unanimously refused.
