The withdrawal of support for the Connect2 Bridge by one of the main landowners has been welcomed by Perth golfers.
North Inch Users’ Group chairman Jack McLeish told The Courier that he hoped Capability Scotland’s change of heart would now spell the end of the crossing.
He also branded the plans by Perth and Kinross Council for a £2.6 million pedestrian and cycle link between Scone and Perth as a “fiasco”, as he feels that proper consultation had not been carried out.
Council leader Ian Miller defended the project, stating that various working groups from the town had been involved in the process from the beginning and that no final decisions had yet been made by the local authority.
Nonetheless, Mr McLeish said, “The decision by the council to build the bridge without first consulting the people of Perth has now backfired.
“We hope that this will end the council’s plans to use this crossing point and the existing layout of the 200-year-old North Inch Golf Course will be preserved for the future.
“The council has totally failed to show there is any genuine demand for the project.”
During a special briefing last week, the local authority revealed that Capability Scotland had decided it no longer wanted the development on its land at Upper Springland on Isla Road.
Although the organisation has offered to work with the council to find a “mutually satisfying” way forward, serious doubt still hangs over the future of the bridge.
Mr McLeish is now demanding a public meeting before any new plans are submitted.
However, Mr Miller has confirmed that the local authority does not intend to find an alternative route for the bridge, as the current location is the only one that meets financial, environmental, engineering, economic and geographical requirements.
He stated that there has been a “misunderstanding” about the council’s role in promoting the Connect2 project locally, as it is a national scheme by Sustrans aimed at improving cycle and pedestrian connections across the country.
He also said it only became a local campaign in Perthshire when it was announced as one of the options in a competition for Big Lottery funding which it won.
Mr Miller said, “The council has been working with various users to develop a viable proposal that could be put forward for planning consent.
“That point has not been reached.”
He also advised that before the development could go ahead, planning permission is required and that process would require extensive consultation.