Latest news with #FinanceandResourcesCommittee
Daily Record
15-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
£13 million road linking Bertha Park to A9 North of Perth to open at the end of 2026
Work has been accelerated on the third phase of the Cross Tay Link Road project Work on a £13.2 million project to create a road connecting Bertha Park to the Cross Tay Link Road and the A9 north of Perth has begun. The new Bertha Park Link Road is expected to open at the end of 2026. A capital budget report put before Perth and Kinross Council's Finance and Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 30 said construction work on the project had been accelerated. The new road - just under a mile long - will connect Bertha Park to the Cross Tay Link Road and the A9 north of Perth. It is the third and second last phase of the £150 million Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) project. It will head north from the existing roundabout next to Bertha Park High School, going through housing in Bertha Park and on through areas of farmland and forestry before meeting the new A9 west roundabout. At last Wednesday's meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee, Conservative Almond and Earn councillor David Illingworth said: "I'm pleased to see the Bertha Park Link Road has been accelerated. Are there any estimates for when it will start and how long it will take to deliver?" PKC's strategic lead for Economy, Development and Planning Serge Merone said: "Initial works - tree clearance and construction of temporary accesses - have commenced. That will be followed by further advanced works. Earthworks will commence in June 2025 and we anticipate the completion before the end of 2026." Planning permission for the new route was granted earlier this year by PKC's Planning and Placemaking Committee in February, just ahead of the Cross Tay Link Road's three-span Destiny Bridge and four-mile New Kingsway officially opening on March 31.
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Five-month delay opening the new Blairgowrie Rec "not acceptable"
Contractors are currently trying to pinpoint the location of the latest leak in the swimming pool A council chief has told councillors the five-month delay in opening the new £36 million Blairgowrie Recreation Centre is "not acceptable". Contractors are on site attempting to identify where the latest pool leak is as well as considering "other more radical options". The unidentified leak in the six-lane 25-metre swimming pool - which has been built with a movable floor - has further delayed the opening of Scotland's first leisure centre built to environmentally-friendly Passivhaus standards. The state-of-the-art, low-energy facility has been built for the use of both Blairgowrie High School and the wider community. As well as the pool, it has a four-court sports hall; two-court sports hall/gymnasium; a fitness suite; dance studio; several different changing facilities; an office and a PE classroom, and a floodlit synthetic outdoor pitch. At a meeting of PKC's Finance and Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 30, a Blairgowrie and Glens ward councillor asked when locals could finally expect to step foot inside the new sports centre. Conservative councillor Caroline Shiers said: "We were heading for a post-Christmas opening and then we were going to go and work off our Easter eggs and now we're looking at maybe it's our summer bodies we'll be working on. "I think the community has been very very patient and that has been appreciated but an indication of a projected handover and then opening time would be helpful." PKC's strategic lead for Property Services Stephen Crawford said: "My apologies from both my contractors' supply chain and myself for not being able to deliver this on time. "The pool remains with an unidentified leak. The contractors are currently on site, in the pool, attempting to find the leak but also considering other more radical options. "A timescale I unfortunately can't give you at the moment. Last Wednesday the Scrutiny [and Performance] Committee asked for a report on the cause of the delay. "I would say it has been fortuitous that we've had the existing Blair Rec ready during that time but I agree with you five months' delay is not acceptable." SNP council leader Grant Laing agreed: "It is frustrating for us all but it is the right thing to do. You wouldn't go and take a car that had one bald tyre. "It's the sensible and pragmatic thing to do and I'm sure the contractors will not be enjoying this situation either. It is a good example though of having a tandem build because if we had knocked down Blair Rec and said something would be ready in 18 months, and it ends up being two years that is really when people will get upset. "But yeah I share your frustration." Cllr Shiers asked if local elected members could be updated on the logistics of when the handover and demolition of the old Blairgowrie Rec does eventually take place. She said: "When handover does happen and then there will be the demolition of the existing building, my concern is around the logistics around that in terms of making sure the car park facilities for the new facility are available and we don't have any knock-on effect on the wider community by not having that operational. I'm guessing the whole schedule has gone out the window a wee bit with this so an additional briefing with local elected members would be helpful." Mr Crawford was "more than happy" to work with both the local councillors and Blairgowrie community on that. Councillors have previously been assured, by Mr Crawford, Perth and Kinross Council will not be financially impacted by the delays and that they are "fully the responsibility of the contractor so they are bearing all those costs". Blairgowrie Recreation Centre was originally scheduled to be handed over to Live Active Leisure - to run the facility - at the end of December. At the April 23 meeting of PKC's Scrutiny and Performance Committee, Mr Crawford told councillors that during the filling of the swimming pool "a number of small leaks" were identified and since then "a number of other leaks have been found and we've been working through that over the last three months to deal with those". In a previous statement, issued by Perth and Kinross Council, BAM UK and Ireland construction director Paul Carle apologised for the delay. He said: "The pool is a complex design, and we have been working with specialist contractors to deliver it. Unfortunately, there have been technical issues and it's right that we take time to correct these before it opens to the public. "We are sorry for the delay and remain fully focussed of getting the repairs undertaken as early as possible." While it will be the first energy-efficient leisure centre in Scotland, it is not the first swimming pool with a movable floor. Loch Leven Campus has a movable floor and one is also proposed in Perth's new sports centre, PH2O. A PKC spokesperson said: "We are currently working with the contractor to address the issues at the new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre and our Scrutiny and Performance Committee has been asked to investigate the causes of these. "Movable floors are found in many pools, including at Loch Leven Campus. Full proposals for PH2O will be presented to councillors in June." Building work on the replacement Blairgowrie Rec eventually began in June 2023 - after years of delays. Brexit, the COVID pandemic, a drainage issue and market volatility caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all been blamed for delays to the project.
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Final phase of £150 million Cross Tay Link Road project delayed
Works on two bridges - as part of the Perth City Centre Improvements - have been rescheduled Scheduled works on two Perth city centre bridges have been pushed back by a year each. The works form part of the final phase of the £150 million Cross Tay Link Road project. A Perth City Centre councillor has raised concern that the Perth City Centre Improvements phase is not forgotten. A brief reference was made to the delays in an update on PKC's six-year composite capital budget for 2024-2030 put before the Finance and Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 30. At Wednesday's meeting, Perth City Centre councillor Peter Barrett asked what the renewed timeline would be for the planned works on both the Old Perth Bridge (also known as Smeaton's Bridge) and Queen's Bridge. PKC's strategic lead for Environment and Infrastructure Fraser Crofts explained: "We've had some further staff turnover within the team unfortunately." "In terms of delivery of those two schemes, it's been pushed back by one year each." Building work on the Old Perth Bridge has been postponed until 2026/27 and Queen's Bridge until 2027/28. Mr Crofts assured councillors there were "ongoing inspections" of both bridges in terms of safety. Cllr Peter Barrett asked that this final phase "doesn't get forgotten about". The Liberal Democrat councillor said: "Obviously, we have all been really pleased to see the completion of the Cross Tay Link Road and the reduction in traffic that that has created in the Scone Main Street, Old Perth Bridge, Atholl St corridor which is really welcome in terms of road safety for residents and amenity for shoppers. "But I am concerned the final phase of Transport Futures' Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) project doesn't get forgotten about. And are the staff shortages going to have an impact on delivering the environmental and road safety improvements in the Scone Main Street, Old Perth Bridge, Atholl St corridor area?" Councillors were told the rollout of national initiatives, as well as staffing issues, had impacted the planned works taking place. Mr Crofts said: "In terms of the majority of the work we agreed to undertake on the back of the CTLR that has been carried out. We continue to work through the programme as we go forward. "Members will be aware of some other national initiatives that have come our way, not least the pavement parking ban and the 20mph rollout as well. "But we will work and prioritise, within the resources that we have, to deliver on all fronts. To the best of my knowledge, we are pretty much back to capacity now across the Traffic and Network team."
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Perth and Kinross Council to be awarded £97,000 from insurance after Perth Christmas Lights Switch-on cancellation
The annual Christmas event was cancelled in 2024 due to Storm Bert Perth and Kinross Council has been told it will receive £97,000 through its insurance after last year's Christmas Lights event was cancelled due to bad weather. Once received, the money will be reallocated to future events. The news of the successful insurance claim was included in a revised 2024/25 revenue budget report presented to PKC's Finance and Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 30. Last year, PKC took the decision - on the grounds of public safety - to cancel its annual Christmas Lights Switch-on due to take place on November 23 and 24, due to Storm Bert. German dance group Cascada and sing-along band Massaoke were among the acts due to perform. It was the first time - other than during COVID - the event has had to be cancelled. Due to the timescales and costs involved, an alternative date could not be arranged, but the Christmas cabins and Santa Grotto remained in place as planned. In February 2025, PKC's Finance and Resources Committee agreed that - should the council's insurance claim for the cancelled event be successful - the money would be allocated to an earmarked reserve for future events. The updated report by PKC's chief financial officer Scott Walker on the 2024/25 General Fund Revenue Budget - put before the committee on Wednesday - reported the claim had been successful. He said: "The committee was previously advised that an insurance claim had been submitted for the cost associated with the cancellation of the November 2024 Christmas Lights Switch-on. The council has now received notification that the claim has been approved and the sum of £97,000 will be paid. As previously agreed by the committee, when received, this amount will be applied to an earmarked reserve for future events to augment activity in the future."
STV News
05-05-2025
- Business
- STV News
Five-month delay to £36m recreation centre is 'unacceptable'
A council chief has told councillors the five-month delay in opening the new £36m Blairgowrie Recreation Centre is 'not acceptable'. Contractors are on site attempting to identify where the latest pool leak is as well as considering 'other more radical options'. The unidentified leak in the six-lane 25-metre swimming pool – which has been built with a movable floor – has further delayed the opening of Scotland's first leisure centre built to environmentally-friendly Passivhaus standards. The state-of-the-art, low-energy facility has been built for the use of both Blairgowrie High School and the wider community. As well as the pool, it has a four-court sports hall; two-court sports hall/gymnasium; a fitness suite; dance studio; several different changing facilities; an office and a PE classroom, and a floodlit synthetic outdoor pitch. At a meeting of PKC's Finance and Resources Committee on Wednesday, April 30, a Blairgowrie and Glens ward councillor asked when locals could finally expect to step foot inside the new sports centre. Conservative councillor Caroline Shiers said: 'We were heading for a post-Christmas opening and then we were going to go and work off our Easter eggs and now we're looking at maybe it's our summer bodies we'll be working on. 'I think the community has been very very patient and that has been appreciated but an indication of a projected handover and then opening time would be helpful.' PKC's strategic lead for Property Services Stephen Crawford said: 'My apologies from both my contractors' supply chain and myself for not being able to deliver this on time. 'The pool remains with an unidentified leak. The contractors are currently on site, in the pool, attempting to find the leak but also considering other more radical options. 'A timescale I unfortunately can't give you at the moment. Last Wednesday the Scrutiny [and Performance] Committee asked for a report on the cause of the delay. 'I would say it has been fortuitous that we've had the existing Blair Rec ready during that time but I agree with you five months' delay is not acceptable.' SNP council leader Grant Laing agreed: 'It is frustrating for us all but it is the right thing to do. You wouldn't go and take a car that had one bald tyre. 'It's the sensible and pragmatic thing to do and I'm sure the contractors will not be enjoying this situation either. It is a good example though of having a tandem build because if we had knocked down Blair Rec and said something would be ready in 18 months, and it ends up being two years that is really when people will get upset. 'But yeah I share your frustration.' Cllr Shiers asked if local elected members could be updated on the logistics of when the handover and demolition of the old Blairgowrie Rec does eventually take place. She said: 'When handover does happen and then there will be the demolition of the existing building, my concern is around the logistics around that in terms of making sure the car park facilities for the new facility are available and we don't have any knock-on effect on the wider community by not having that operational. I'm guessing the whole schedule has gone out the window a wee bit with this so an additional briefing with local elected members would be helpful.' Mr Crawford was 'more than happy' to work with both the local councillors and Blairgowrie community on that. Councillors have previously been assured, by Mr Crawford, Perth and Kinross Council will not be financially impacted by the delays and that they are 'fully the responsibility of the contractor so they are bearing all those costs'. Blairgowrie Recreation Centre was originally scheduled to be handed over to Live Active Leisure – to run the facility – at the end of December. At the April 23 meeting of PKC's Scrutiny and Performance Committee, Mr Crawford told councillors that during the filling of the swimming pool 'a number of small leaks' were identified and since then 'a number of other leaks have been found and we've been working through that over the last three months to deal with those'. In a previous statement, issued by Perth and Kinross Council, BAM UK and Ireland construction director Paul Carle apologised for the delay. He said: 'The pool is a complex design, and we have been working with specialist contractors to deliver it. Unfortunately, there have been technical issues and it's right that we take time to correct these before it opens to the public. 'We are sorry for the delay and remain fully focussed of getting the repairs undertaken as early as possible.' While it will be the first energy-efficient leisure centre in Scotland, it is not the first swimming pool with a movable floor. Loch Leven Campus has a movable floor and one is also proposed in Perth's new sports centre, PH2O. A PKC spokesperson said: 'We are currently working with the contractor to address the issues at the new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre and our Scrutiny and Performance Committee has been asked to investigate the causes of these. 'Movable floors are found in many pools, including at Loch Leven Campus. Full proposals for PH2O will be presented to councillors in June.' Building work on the replacement Blairgowrie Rec eventually began in June 2023 – after years of delays. Brexit, the COVID pandemic, a drainage issue and market volatility caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have all been blamed for delays to the project. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
