Organisations and residents have become embroiled in a dispute with the council over fears a former leisure centre could be “lost to the community forever”.
The mothballed Rodney Pavilion is in the process of being put on the market by PKC, with an east Perth group determined to bring it into community ownership.
The residents’ group - which includes members from Cycling Without Age, Perth in Bloom and Craigie Community choir - hopes to create a space for activities such as visual art and music workshops, ‘come and try’ sessions, computer gaming events, tea dances, ceilidhs and contemporary dance.
This would be balanced with meditation, yoga and Pilates classes. And live music, comedy and theatre will be a large part of the offering from a studio-style auditorium.
The facility has been empty since its gym and fitness equipment was moved to Bell’s Sports Centre’s new 100-station gymnasium last summer.
Plans to transform it into an annex for Kinnoull Primary School, bowls venue, soft play centre and martial arts centre were mooted.
However, none of these options were deemed feasible due to the centre’s condition, with £600,000 required to bring the building up to standard.
Options then turned to potential Community Asset Transfers (CAT).
PKC has a two-stage process in supporting groups with CAT Requests, where an Expression of Interest (EoI) is lodged first to provide basic information on the proposal.
At council committee in November, a May 2023 deadline was set for the more comprehensive CAT applications.
If the CAT is accepted it would save the Dundee Road facility from being put on the market.
The residents’ group submitted an EoI on April 28.
Co-lead of the group, local Ian McGrath, said: “This is an exciting and fantastic new project for the community of Perth, bringing energy back into an abandoned building.
“The redevelopment of the current Rodney Pavilion into an Arts and Wellbeing Centre for the community and visitors will reinforce Perth’s position as the UK’s first UNESCO City of Craft and Folk Art.
“We are very pleased to be joined by so many local businesses and organisations supporting our bid to keep the Rodney Pavilion in community hands.”
However, despite the EoI submission, fellow group member David Campbell said they met with council officers on June 6, who set an “impossible” two-week deadline for a CAT application.
He deemed it not enough time to develop a fully-costed business plan, architects drawings, community consultation and registration with the charity regulator OSCR.
Mr Campbell said: “It could take up to nine months to develop a community bid to buy/lease the building under the Community Asset Transfer scheme.
“At a recent meeting, without warning, we were advised by senior council management that it had been decided to immediately market the building to private commercial entities.
“This was despite being told at a previous meeting that this process would be put on hold if we could submit an Expression of Interest by May this year. The Pavilion may now be sold, possibly converted into flats and lost to the community forever.”
Ian and David are also asking residents to contact them and get behind them to lobby the council.
In response, the council said the deadline for both an EoI and CAT request was to be lodged by May, which the group did not meet.
A spokesperson said: “Council officers have been working with representatives from the wellbeing group since November 2022 to provide advice and guidance on potential options for community ownership of Rodney Pavilion. The timescale to receive a full Community Asset Transfer (CAT) Request by the end of May 2023 was approved by the relevant committee in November 2022, with agreement to market the property if no CAT Request was received by that time.
“An Expression of Interest was received on April 28, but as no formal CAT Request for the pavilion was received by the end of May, we began the process of putting the property on the open market. This decision was communicated to representatives from the group at a meeting in early June.
“Options for the group to explore, including the opportunity to continue with a CAT Request, were set out.
“At this point we have not received a formal CAT request from the group.
“We are happy to have further discussions with them about making such a request.”
