Retailers rally to stop ‘Trojan horse’

Jan 13 2009 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTH city centre retailers yesterday submitted a petition calling on councillors to reject moves to change planning restrictions on a £5 million gateway development taking shape at Inveralmond.

With the recession kicking-in, the Kilmartin Property Group is seeking the green light to remove a key condition requiring the creation of a glass-making tourist attraction before welcoming other business.

But, as highlighted in Friday’s PA, that has triggered fears that businesses will be sucked from the central shopping area.

Retailers have branded it a “Trojan horse”.

Council planners are recommending that today’s development control committee approves the move to ease the original planning restrictions.

The local authority departed from their planning policy to grant Kilmartin approval at a time when Caithness Glass went into receivership and its visitor centre was threatened with closure and the loss of 60 jobs.

A salvage operation involving Dartington Crystal foundered.

The proposed development focused on the visitor centre and approval was given for further retail units to support it.

Now Kilmartin want to remove the stipulation of having the visitor centre up and running before occupying adjacent retail units.

Perth city centre businesses have united to condemn this proposition.

“We only had a few days to respond, as I received information that this was being put through on Christmas Eve,” said John Bullough, managing director of McEwens of Perth and the petition organiser.

“I have signatures from over 120 city centre businesses, which should ensure that councillors are in no doubt where Perth’s main ratepayers stand on this issue.

“This development would never have even been considered if it wasn’t for the visitor centre and the perceived retention of Caithness jobs.

“If it is occupied without the visitor centre it will simply be a retail park which would be of enormous damage to the city centre.

“I wrote a letter to the PA years ago when this planning consent was given, saying this is what Kilmartin would try. I take no pleasure whatsoever in being proved right.

“I believe Kilmartin used the political hot potato of the Caithness closure and subsequent redundancies as a bargaining chip to get planning. It was always about the retail units and not the visitor centre.”