Seating row at St John’s Shopping Centre

Dec 15 2009 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A MOVE to upgrade seating in Perth’s St John’s Centre has infuriated local pensioners.

The disquiet surfaced when two senior citizens wrote to the PA about the new back-less seating installed in place of the circular seats on which weary shoppers could recline.

One Craigie pensioner described the change as “another knife in the back for Perth’s senior citizens”.

She said: “I would like to know who is responsible for the removal of the “circle” seats with backs and replacing them with narrow backless forms which are totally useless for older people with back trouble.”

And in another letter, Alistair Peddie accused the St John’s Shopping Centre management of showing “reckless disregard towards its senior citizens.”

He called for the centre management to re-think the new seating and revert to a design which offered back support.

But the shopping centre’s manager Siobhan McConnell told the PA that the new seating ticked all the right boxes.

She explained that the time was up for the former seating, and the replacement design catered better for the increasing number of visitors: “The seating arrangements in St John’s Shopping Centre have been replaced after 12 years’ daily use because they were no longer in a repairable state and have been removed and recycled.

“The decision to introduce new seating arrangements was arrived at after fully consulting retailers and members of our security and cleaning teams, all of whom interact daily with the frequent users of the seating.

“The seating which has been installed complies with the requirements laid out by the Disability Discrimination Act and is deemed to be suitable for a shopping centre environment.

“It was not our intention to anger or alienate any visitors to the centre by changing the seating. We take all views and comments very seriously and have received a lot of positive feedback about the new seating arrangements as well as a small number of complaints to which we have responded personally.”

Outlining the increasing number of visitors to the city centre mall, Siobhan continued: “To explain our decision, extra floor space in the shopping centre was required as a result of ever increasing numbers of visitors. Visitor numbers have increased from around 5.5 million in 1997 to 6.5 million in 2009. There was a distinct and identifiable requirement to improve circulation space as well as replace old, worn and irreparable seating. It was not possible to achieve these aims by replacing with seating of the same dimensions.”

She added: “St John’s Shopping Centre offers visitors a wide choice and variety of areas where they can socialise and relax to enhance and enjoy their visit to Perth city centre. Over the last few years, seating numbers have increased from 160 to 230 within the centre, and we now offer a range of seating options in both the mall and the three restaurants and cafes.”