Perth is set to miss out on becoming the Scottish fire service’s permanent power base despite offering the cheapest option.
A report has gone before the service’s board recommending to fire chiefs that Stirling should be the preferred option for the permanent hub.
Since the eight regional fire services were amalgamated, the national Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has been operating successfully from temporary headquarters in Perth’s Whitefriar’s Crescent.
Campaigners had hoped this would give the city an edge over its rivals when it came to making the final choice.
However, despite Perth Atrium offering the cheapest option, independent analysis decreed that the Glover Street site and Perth Fire Station were not fit for purpose and recommended that Stirling’s Kildean Business Park was the preferred option.
A report by SFRS deputy chief officer Alex Clark said: “If only non-monetary values are considered the two Perth sites clearly lag behind the three other sites, with significant limitations which include footprint capability, visibility and deliverability.
“The Kildean site is the more secure choice with the ongoing leisure-based development and associated infrastructure proceeding within the business park creating a momentum.”
Perth and Kinross Council’s convener for enterprise and infrastructure, John Kellas, said: “Obviously it is disappointing that SFRS will not be keeping their headquarters here in Perth.
“We have held detailed discussions with them over the past two years, during which time they have had their temporary headquarters here, and have made every possible effort to fulfil their requirements.
“Unfortunately it has not been possible to secure them suitable long-term accommodation in the city.”
Councillor Alexander Stewart, a member of the community safety committee for Perth and Kinross who sat on the joint board of Tayside Fire and Rescue for 14 years, said: “With superb physical and digital links, high quality business support, and an exceptional quality of life on offer, Perth should have been the ideal location to retain this facility.”
Perthshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Vicki Unite agreed, saying: “Perth is every bit as capable of providing the ideal central location for Scottish bodies to base themselves. And while we witness proof of this in the loyalty of key commercial players such as Stagecoach and SSE, we sadly lose out when it comes to luring and securing public sector equivalents.”