Perth and Kinross Council’s attempt to defend the costs of refurbishing their headquarters has provoked a furious backlash from the public and the business community.
After The Courier reported criticism of the plan to spend a further £100,000 on lighting the exterior of 2 High Street, the council took to social media saying it was “a shame” our report did not recognise “a well-lit and brighter city will make Perth more interesting and appealing to residents and visitors”.
But the post attracted scores of negative comments from the public — and leading members of the retail community accused the council of ignoring public opinion.
“They are not listening to us. We are battering our heads against a brick wall — this money could be be better spent,” said Kairen Ruse, owner of Blues & Browns clothes shop in Perth’s South Street.
Diane Donaldson posted: “Would it not be better to focus on trying to lower rents to attract companies to open shops in Perth?
“Or use the money to open something for people to actually come and visit in Perth? No point having good lighting if there’s nothing to come for!”
Anne Campbell said: “All that money spent on one building won’t make the town centre a safer place.
“Lighting on streets out of town has been changed to save money and certainly not made them safer. A ridiculous waste of money.”
Some came to the council’s defence.
Businesswoman Lorraine Law posted: “PKC are pretty much damned if they don’t and damned if they do. This may not be the solution to all of Perth’s current problems but it’s a start of some investment into making it a brighter place.”
The council statement on Facebook said: “We are aware that the 2 High Street renovations are an easy target; but this lighting strategy is for the benefit of the residents and visitors and not the council staff who will be based in the building.
“This strategy is about investing in the city and we look forward to sharing the full details and exciting images of how Perth could be transformed by external lighting in the future.
“We are taking advantage of the current works underway at 2 High Street to get this stage of the works done to avoid additional disruption to the surrounding area, and particularly the businesses based here.”
