Campaigners battling to gain public access to Perth City Hall hope international pressure will strengthen their hand.
For the second year running a request was made to Perth and Kinross Council to let the Edwardian building take part in Doors Open Day, giving the public the rare and brief opportunity to see inside the hall which has been closed for a decade.
The council’s stance that this wasn’t possible as the interior is “unsuitable” for the public angered the Save Perth City Hall group who set up an online petition calling for a U-turn.
It has been claimed there are holes in the floor, dry rot throughout the building, chandeliers down and loose flooring in the bar area.
“I’ve been greatly encouraged by the response to the petition,” said Barry Pringle of the group.
“In the first five days we’ve had 750 signatures, from as far as Canada and Australia, and the comments are not only heartfelt but also very constructive.
“They (the council) would deny an older person the chance to see where they used to go dancing 50 years ago.
“If the council’s answer is that they haven’t had enough notice, then mine is that they’ve had a whole year since they refused entry to the public.
“Rather than showing integrity the council shows fear and weakness, afraid that by allowing the public inside, it would be more difficult for them to demolish the building, which has been their mission for a decade.”
Yesterday the council said their position had not changed on allowing the public in to the building.
The future use of the hall will next be discussed on October 7.
Campaigners fear that the council may try at that stage to resurrect previous plans for the demolition of the building to replace it with a city square.
People signing the petition, which by yesterday had attracted more than 800 signatures, have been urging the council to have a rethink.
Valerie MacLean, Scone, said she was “very angry” and said the council was “depriving” the general public of access.
Sheila Davies, Inverness, said: “The people of Perth must be allowed inside their city hall” while Anne Duncan, Glasgow, said: “It’s beautiful inside and people should be allowed to see that.”
The petition will run until Friday September 11. It can be found at Change.org then search for ‘Let the public see inside Perth City Hall’.