Public vote to decide hall future?

Aug 19 2011 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Dear Editor, – With the help of the PA, the people of Perth have had a chance to air their views on the future of the City Hall. Now they should be allowed to vote on the issue, for three reasons.

Firstly, of the 1637 people who took part in the Council’s public consultation exercise last year, the majority (841) selected options other than total demolition. On this basis alone, the Council’s plans are undemocratic.

Secondly, only around half of the people who took part in the consultation were from Perth. Although the views of visitors and incoming workers are important, they should be of secondary importance to the views of people who live or run businesses in Perth.

Thirdly, this is too big a decision for 41 councillors to make on their own. This is a decision for all of the people of Perth.

For these reasons, I suggest that the Council arranges a public vote for all residents of Perth. Furthermore the voting options should not be restricted to a simple choice between accepting or rejecting the Council’s proposals.

Rather, in addition to three primary choices (retention, demolition or partial demolition) it should also offer a range of secondary choices of what should be done with the building if it is retained (or partially retained), and what features a civic square should incorporate if that is the voter’s preference. The majority view should be binding on the Council.

This would be an exciting exercise in civic participation, which would give the people of Perth a stronger sense of ownership of their city. It would help the Council regain some democratic credibility, which it has almost completely lost.

Michael Gallagher,

33 Precinct Street,

Coupar Angus,

Perthshire, PH13 9DG.