Councillors advised to OK building plans

Plans to develop ex-council building into hotel and offices

- KATHRYN ANDERSON

Plans The former Perth and Kinross Council building in the city's High Street

Perth and Kinross councillors have been recommended to approve plans for the council's historic former Perth chambers and offices to be converted into a hotel -despite objections from both SEPA and PKC's flooding team.

Turley has submitted plans - on behalf of Lock Terrace Ltd - to convert 1-5 and 15-18 High Street into a 74-bedroomed hotel which will go before PKC's Planning and Placemaking Committee on Wednesday, November 5.

The plans would see the creation of a landscaped courtyard and the historic jail cells, courtroom, and chapel converted into feature rooms and meeting rooms but concerns have been raised about the risk of ground floor hotel bedrooms flooding.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has maintained a holding objection to the plans due to insufficient information about potential flood risk to ground floor bedrooms. Scotland's environmental watchdog said the use of Flood Warning "is not and has never been an acceptable way to justify or facilitate development".