Council branded ‘arrogant and undemocratic’

Jul 22 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Dear Editor, – I was interested to read the article by Pete Wishart MP on the subject of the City Hall “Wishart tells PCCC to “put up or shut up” (PA, Tuesday, July 19). Apart from his appalling rudeness, he really should try to get his facts right instead of swallowing uncritically all the wild assertions and denunciations of the Council’s administration. Jim Provan is absolutely correct in saying that the Council have acted undemocratically in relation to the City Hall.

The minute of the Council Meeting of June 16, did not approve the creation of a city square. The exact wording of the minute – which is what counts, everything else is irrelevant – is “(iii) Further consideration be given to the complete demolition of the City Hall and the creation of a civic square/public space on the basis that it will deliver significant benefits to economic growth and the wider community, be agreed”. Not a difficult minute to get passed unanimously, since it committed no one to anything other than giving “further consideration”. But this is the same minute which Pete Wishart – and the Council – now allege “unanimously approved the creation of a city square”. So, far from Ian Miller being due an apology from James Provan for accusing the Council administration of acting undemocratically, as called for by Mr Wishart, it is James Provan who is due an apology from Ian Miller.

It is not for the PCCC to produce “business plans, a funding package and backers”. They don’t own or lease the building. The PCCC was formed to look into possible alternatives to complete demolition and to discuss these with the Council. What happened when they approached the Council? The Council refused even to meet them. As for Mr Wishart’s derisory comment about the PCCC “producing nothing other than a crude drawing”, the fact is that the PCCC architect produced a number of excellent and completely accurate sketches showing the PCCC proposals. These can still be seen on display in Willows restaurant in St John’s Place. The Council, on the other hand, in their “accept or reject” exercise in the St John’s Centre, which followed, instead of preceded, the application to demolish, displayed completely inaccurate drawings which gave the impression that the square would be at least twice, if not three times its actual size. On top of that we have Councillor Ian Miller’s assertion that “our new city square is set to rival some of the very best in Europe”. Has he ever seen any squares in Europe such as in Paris, Brussels, Milan, Venice or even little Bruges? It makes one wonder if he has ever been outside Perth and Kinross.

My conclusion, as someone who has held a number of senior posts with various councils in Perth between 1966 and 1992, taking into account some of the other fiascoes in which this Council has been involved, such as the Shore Road Incinerator, the footbridge over the Tay and the totally unnecessary re-paving of High Street, is that this is the most arrogant and undemocratic council that Perth and Perth and Kinross have had to suffer in the last 45 years.

JED Cormie, by email.