Drunks and drug users in the centre of Perth are discouraging visitors from venturing outside their accommodation, according to a local guest house owner.
George Tennie told The Courier his guests have voiced concerns about walking through Perth at night, as they face intimidation from addicts.
The proprietor of the Heidl Guest House on York Place has even advised people to take a longer route back to his establishment, to help them avoid certain areas.
“I tell them to come back via the ring road, rather than walk through the city centre,” he said.
“The main concern that people have is that they sometimes feel threatened by down-and-outs begging them for money and cigarettes.
I’ve come across this myself and I feel that you can’t go anywhere in town any more without someone coming up and asking for something. My guests are becoming really wary of this now.”
A regular visitor to Mr Tennie’s guest house is a freelance writer, who submits articles on places to visit and restaurants to in-flight magazines.
He continued, “When this guy stayed here recently, I asked him how he felt coming back to Perth, as it was the first time he’d been here in a few years.
“He said that Perth is now ‘second division’ because it’s really run-down and that he thought it was a shame.
“The general reaction from guests these days is that this is a ‘lovely city, but…’ and there are always certain reservations.”
In a bid to stop Perth’s reputation being left in tatters, Mr Tennie contacted a local councillor, but was disappointed by the response.
He claimed the councillor wasn’t “the slightest bit interested,” although they did invite him to find other guest house owners with similar concerns.
“I managed to round up about 10 more people, but it didn’t come to much,” said Mr Tennie. “Although we were offered a 30-minute meeting, it was so early in the morning that we would still have been clearing up from breakfast, so it was no good.
“We haven’t been able to rearrange it yet, but we could tell by the general response that they weren’t interested.”
He also made criticisms of Councillor Ian Miller’s response to shocking images in The Courier this week showing two people passed out near a popular beauty spot in Perth.
The leader of Perth and Kinross Council dismissed claims by a resident that Perth’s reputation was being “shattered” branding them “utter nonsense.”
Mr Tennie accused Mr Miller of “burying his head in the sand” and insisted councillors need to “face reality.”
When the issue was highlighted in a Courier article, a representative of Tayside Police readily admitted the existence of the problem.
Inspector Jim Smith said, “We are aware of areas in Perth that known alcoholics and drug abusers frequent and we give these areas regular attention.
“However, we also rely on members of the public getting in touch with us to report any incidents of anti-social behaviour.
“Anyone who has concerns about individuals who may be involved in anti-social behaviour of any kind should get in touch with us on 0300 111 2222.”