Part of a council car park will be marketed for lease despite a lack of public consultation and having twice previously been refused.
Councillors on the planning committee voted - against the recommendation of council officers - to grant planning permission for a restaurant to be established on the site in April 2021.
Perth and Kinross Council's Property Sub-Committee then voted - in June 2021 and January 2022 - not to lease Pitlochry's Rie-Achan Road Car Park site much to the disappointment of the McCallums who hoped to open a Thai restaurant in two train carriages there.
At the January meeting councillors voted by four votes to three against deferring a decision until a parking survey was done. Former Conservative council leader Murray Lyle - who voted against leasing the site - pledged to "work with the McCallum family to try and find an acceptable site within Pitlochry or beyond". Current SNP council leader Grant Laing backed the defeated amendment to defer a decision until a survey was done.
PKC commissioned transport consultants SYSTRA - who then appointed a professional data company - to undertake the survey. Traffic surveys were done in March 2022 and July 2022 for comparison.
On Monday, November 14 PKC's Property Sub-Committee was asked - for the third time - to market the car park site for lease. Officers recommended it for approval.
At last Monday's meeting objector Mark Wood - who runs nearby Mackenzie's Coffee House on Atholl Road - questioned the accuracy of the survey.
The local businessman claimed there were "373 spaces compared to the 603 spaces identified by the survey".
He highlighted the report included privately-operated car parks - such as the Co-op's - and debated the number of on-street unmarked bays.
Mr Wood said problem parking was a regular issue in Pitlochry particularly on a narrower stretch of Atholl Road between East Moulin Road and Escape Route where "jams often occur".
He said: "The option of introducing double yellow lines along this stretch of road is being investigated. If this is implemented then the lost spaces will need to be accommodated within the town's car parks which are already close to capacity according to the report."
Convener Grant Laing said: "I find it strange the report would be about 100 per cent out or 50 per cent out."
Mr Wood said: "Yeah, I entirely agree with you."
SNP councillor Eric Drysdale queried the "substantial difference of opinion".
Resource Management service manager Brian Reid said: "We have used SYSTRA a number of times and - to date - they have always provided professional and accurate information. We don't have any doubt the survey information should be accurate."
SNP Bailie Mike Williamson addressed the committee.
He said: "People are acutely aware of the congestion in Pitlochry on busy days. There is a fear that leasing out the ground within the Rie-Achan Car Park will displace more traffic to on-street parking."
The Highland Perthshire councillor asked councillors to accept the recommendations in the report: to assess how best to increase car park capacity, potentially use coach park spaces and explore redesignating the car park for short-term parking.
He called for better signage and "better management of the existing spaces".
In a written statement objector Fiona Hamilton claimed the survey was "full of errors".
Her objections included: "extreme risks to public health and safety", "lack of consultation, "lack of transparency and openness" and "inappropriate use of public amenity space".
At the April 2021 planning meeting - when the change of use was initially approved - a nearby resident was prevented from presenting her objection to the committee.
Ms Hamilton added: "Based on PKC's record of excluding local residents I would expect some effort to keep us informed of any developments in this saga. I only heard about this proposal in the last week and many residents will not even be aware of it.
"Whilst you pro-actively exclude residents it would be interesting to know how many meetings and discussions have already taken place between PKC and any potential bidders for this site."
She said "the vast majority" of neighbouring residents were "firmly opposed to any plan to allow a restaurant to operate from this car park".
She added: "No decision should be taken on this proposal without a full and open public consultation with local residents at the forefront."
Potential bidder Mia McCallum (19) hopes to run a Thai restaurant there with mum Isara.
Dad Fergus told the committee: "The planning application received more support than objections. We have a four-figure petition in support of the project."
Cllr Laing reminded councillors they were being asked to market to "any potential commercial person who wants to tender for the lease".
Lib Dem councillor Peter Barrett asked what had changed to merit reconsidering the matter.
Mr McCallum said he had since bought a 1920s carriage and drawn up new plans which would be one carriage wide.
Cllr Barrett suggested the accommodation works, introducing services to the train carriage then returning the site to its previous condition could mount up.
He said: "You might not be shy of a £200,000 investment before you have even sold a meal and on a 10-year lease it looks like an awfully difficult proposal to justify financially to make it viable."
Mr McCallum said: "I have great faith in my wife and daughter that they'll run a successful business."
Moving for approval Cllr Laing said: "I have sat on this committee twice before with different views each time. I feel the change for me is having the car park survey done. Before, we were just listening to opinion."
He added recommendations to review signage and increase enforcement of on-street parking.
Cllr Drysdale seconded.
Cllr Barrett tabled an amendment not to market the site for lease. No one seconded it and the motion to market it was approved.
