By Eric Nicolson

THE NEW members of Perth and Kinross Council have been urged not to buckle under NHS Tayside “scaremongering” and stay strong in their overseeing of the possible redevelopment of Murray Royal Hospital.

Bridgend, Gannochy and Kinnoull Community Council have reacted with “surprise and disappointment” to the recent Courier revelation that the £60 million upgrade of the psychiatric hospital, and the 200 new jobs that would go with it, is under threat.

NHS Tayside chairman Peter Bates has threatened to pull the plug on the investment and jobs boost in the wake of two successive deferrals of planning applications by the previous local authority.

Deirdre Beaton, of the community council, responded, “Such scaremongering is unjustified and unnecessary. NHS Tayside originally submitted two applications for the hospital site. One was for the hospital development and one for 200 houses.

“The first consideration of the hospital development application was at the development control committee meeting on March 14. The application for housing was not considered and, in fact, was withdrawn.

“The hospital development application was accompanied by a sketch plan showing the proposed hospital buildings at the edge of the site (including an encroachment onto green belt) with housing on the remainder of the site.

“The building density was very high and resulted in substantial loss of the green space which is currently so beneficial to the patients. There was no environmental impact survey which is normally required for a development of this size.

“There was an inadequate traffic survey. The development control committee deferred the application and told NHS Tayside to produce a masterplan of the site.” She added, “The community council had held a public meeting to help gauge public opinion. There was positive support for the hospital development but strong feeling that it should be carried out properly with adequate studies and using the whole of the site.

“The community council informed the Perth and Kinross councillors of these views and were grateful that the councillors had taken them on board and had acted in the best interests of their constituents, the hospital and Perth as a whole.

“Because of the backlog of planning applications, Perth and Kinross Council slotted in an extra development control committee meeting on April 25 and put the NHS Tayside application on to the agenda.

“Did NHS Tayside respond by trying to help the council by producing the requested masterplan? They did not. They said that they were unable to provide further information at that time.

“The decision was deferred again and NHS Tayside was told to provide further information and to carry out consultations with the community and other interested parties. There is a genuine desire to resolve the situation to the benefit of all parties.”

Mrs Beaton stressed that Richard Salvin, chairman of the community council, has offered to meet NHS Tayside representatives but has been turned down.

She pointed out, “The community council is of the view that had NHS Tayside attempted to assuage local concerns and had provided what it was told by Perth and Kinross Council to produce, it would have outline planning permission by now.

“It is to be hoped that the councillors will not be swayed by scaremongering and threats, but will support a hospital development while insisting on its being carried out in a proper and considered way.”