Councillors have backed an ambitious bid to transform an historic Perth city centre building into a boutique hotel.
Developers have expressed an interest in taking on the former council chambers at the corner of Tay Street and High Street.
It follows an “intensive” campaign to attract hoteliers to the Fair City.
On Wednesday, members of Perth and Kinross Council’s Common Good Fund Committee agreed to push ahead with the disposal of the now-surplus B-listed property.
The registrars’ office on the ground floor is expected to move to the council’s main headquarters across the street, with wedding ceremonies in the recently revived Civic Hall.
Head of planning and development David Littlejohn told the committee: “Our market analysis over the past five years has consistently indicated that within Perth there is an under-supply of good quality hotel accommodation, particularly to attract the business events and conferences market.”
He said there was a need for between 120 and 140 refurbished or extra hotel beds in the city.
“Perth has the fewest hotel openings of any of the Scottish cities,” he said.
“The last one was the Premier Inn on Mill Street, which was about six years ago.”
He added: “Following some intensive marketing from the Invest In Perth team and discussions with hotel operators, we believe we have secured some real interest in opening a new boutique hotel in Perth.
“The building on High Street is the ideal site for that.”
Asking about potential parking issues, Mr Littlejohn said: “There’s no requirement in planning legislation to provide parking spaces for hotels, it’s customer choice.
“There will be a few spaces at the back of the building, but the expectation will park elsewhere and walk.”
Part of the property facing Tay Street was sold in the 1980s to be converted to flats and the rest was used by the council until 2011, when the district court moved to the sheriff court building and the council’s economic development service went to Pullar House.
Mr Littlejohn said: “The interested parties have seen the building and they are fully aware that important internal features must be retained.
“The assumption would be that the old chambers would be left as is, and incorporated into the hotel in some way, such as a bar, restaurant or dining room.”
Council leader Murray Lyle welcomed the move: “I want to put on record my thanks to the Invest In Perth team for bringing this building to market.
“It has been surplus for a number of years and the opportunity to market it is not to be missed.”
