Plans to create a £34 million leisure hub with hotel and museum on the outskirts of Perth will take a step forward this year.
Morris Leslie, the company behind the West Kinfauns plans, won planning permission in principle in August.
The proposal is for a four-star, four-storey hotel as well as holiday lodges, transport museum and shops.
Cafes, restaurants, bakeries and a cycle repair shops could also form part of the development, which could create up to 130 full-time jobs.
Next steps in Perthshire leisure hub
Morris Leslie’s group operations director Graham Ogilvie has revealed the next steps for the development.
Reflecting on a year of progress, he said: “2022 has all been about getting the consent. 2023 is working through the consent and splitting the development into different parts.
“The lodges will be the first part of the development. We will progress with the applying for detailed consent and then construction will commence.
“This is something we will do ourselves. In the past 18 months we have created our first holiday park at Alyth. This would also be done under the Morris Leslie Villages banner.
“It will be around 50 lodges on site. This part of the project alone would be an investment of around £10 million.”
Hotel operator sought
Morris Leslie is best known for hiring construction equipment, but also has auction and property interests.
It also has its headquarters on the site it acquired from Edrington in 2019.
However, the company is not going to be a hotel operator. Armed with the outline planning permission from Perth and Kinross Council it will be marketing the hotel opportunity.
“There have been discussions with operators that are ongoing,” Mr Ogilvie said.
“Getting the brand is the easier bit, it’s the funding and development of the construction project where there are negotiations and discussions ongoing.
“I’d like to think we’ll have an operator on board in 12 months’ time.”
He warns that the quoted £33.8 million cost is likely to be far higher due to inflation.
“The build costs from when we started the project to where we are now have moved significantly but room rates for hotels have moved higher as well,” he said.
The park and ride facility, museum and retail elements of the project are likely to come at the later stages of the development.
Neighbouring the site is a new 15-home development by Ogilvie Homes who won permission on appeal to the Scottish Government.
Morris Leslie hopes around 80,000 people a year could be attracted to the site, boosting the local economy by £4m.
The company recently announced record pre-tax profits of £12.7m driven by a buoyant construction sector.
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