Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Council spends six-figure sum keeping Perth harbour open for TWO boats

Councillors voted to cut their losses and close Perth Harbour in February 2023. Two years on it's still open and the costs keep rising.

View of Perth harbour with no boats
Perth Harbour dealt with two boats in the whole of 2024.

Council bosses spent a six-figure sum keeping Perth Harbour open for just two boats last year.

Only one vessel docked there in April 2024, followed by one more in November 2024.

However, the cost for maintaining Perth Harbour is expected to slice £100,000 out of Perth and Kinross Council’s budget for 2024/25.

That’s on top of a £208,000 net expenditure for the previous 12 months to March 2024.

The £300,000-plus bill follows a decision to close the harbour in February 2023.

The move was intended to save the council £157,000 a year.

But the legal process has been beset by difficulties and delays.

Aerial shot of Perth harbour on River Tay with city surrounding it
Perth Harbour handled two boats during the whole of last year.

And now councillors are being asked to agree to a Plan B.

That would see Perth Harbour stay open in a reduced capacity while plans to turn it into a visitor destination are drawn up.

Can ‘Harbour Quarter’ put Perth on tourist map?

Transport Scotland has proposed a harbour revision order (HRO), rather than the full closure order which has proved so problematic.

That would mean Perth and Kinross Council stays on as statutory harbour authority.

However, it would close the harbour to commercial vessels over 24 metres.

It would also allow the council to pursue its goal of creating a new “Harbour Quarter” for Perth.

Artist drawing of Perth harbour with museum, yachts and bridge to Moncreiffe Island
Consultants say Perth Harbour could become a visitor destination. Perth and Kinross Council/The Urbanists

A report for councillors says this could include a mix of “outdoor tourism-led and water-based activities, micro and small businesses, and community facilities”.

In addition, “a new bridge would connect the Harbour to Moncreiffe Island and an opportunity for people to engage with nature, to connect with greenspaces and to use active travel to travel to and from the city centre.”

Perth Harbour process could take another year and a half

The harbour revision order will be considered by Perth and Kinross Council’s economy and infrastructure committee on Wednesday.

This arrangement is forecast to cost the council around £65,000 a year.

The sum includes the wages of a harbourmaster, as well as requirements like oil spill cover and safety equipment maintenance.

But while the proposed solution would be cheaper than the existing position, councillors are being warned it won’t be a quick fix.

Perth harbour with empty dock aside from one small pleasure boat
Perth Harbour. Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

The report to Wednesday’s committee states: “The HRO process is likely to be simpler and more manageable for us, but also facilitates future leisure activities and allows the council to retain the necessary powers at the harbour.

“This process could still take six-18 months to complete depending on the results of the consultation.”

The move would also see Perth Harbour Board disbanded.

Tugboat sale earned £500k for council

The council tried to find another operator to take on the loss-making harbour following the February 2023 closure decision.

But the chosen bidder later pulled out.

It did, however, manage to sell the Fair Maid tugboat for £500,000.

Fair Maid of Perth tug boat in Perth Harbou
The Fair Maid of Perth tug boat in Perth Harbour. Image: Supplied.

The Courier previously reported that just six boats used Perth Harbour between February 2023 and March 2024.

Another report on the Harbour Quarter plans is expected to go to councillors in September.

They are part of a wider City Centre Development and Design Framework, which proposes a range of large-scale projects for Perth.

The council has been consulting the public on the draft document, which also proposes the part-demolition of the St John’s Shopping Centre.

Conversation