Perth and Kinross Council has defended a decision to task contractors involved in the creation of the new Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) to complete a clean-up of the city’s Lade after questions were raised about the arrangement at a public meeting.
Attendees of the most recent virtual meeting of Scone and District Community Council (SDCC) were told BAM Nuttall had been asked to do the work to meet a requirement agreed through its contract for the link road project to improve parts of the local authority area.
Vice chair Jill Belch said she had recently attended a public meeting arranged by the council to discuss what kind of work people in the village would like to see carried out in their area through the company’s contractual obligation to do something of community benefit for local residents.
She said it soon became clear that BAM had already agreed to complete a number of tasks to meet the obligation but representatives still seemed prepared to consider her group’s ideas about what could be done specifically in and around Scone to improve the lives of villagers.
However one attendee said he was “surprised” to learn during the same meeting the company had agreed to complete a clean-up of the Perth Lade as part of the community benefit arrangement.
He questioned why it appeared people in Perth were going to get another benefit out of the CTLR project considering PKC has said on multiple occasions the main aim of the £118 million road scheme is to draw traffic away from the city centre and improve air quality for its residents.
“I was surprised to notice that somebody has [suggested] the Lade in the centre of Perth [and] BAM help them to clean it up,” he said. “I spoke to two ladies who were there after the meeting and they both agreed it was inappropriate since [the community benefit] is supposed to be for Scone.”
Ms Belch said she also found the Lade arrangement curious and suggested other smaller communities north of Scone likely to experience greater volumes of traffic passing through when the CTLR is finally constructed ought to be considered for some community benefit too.
“It’s a done deal now but you do wonder who selected it and why,” she said.
A PKC spokesperson commented: “Perth and Kinross Council’s Community Benefit Wish List gives communities the opportunity to make requests for practical support, which suppliers can then include in tender submissions.
“Requests can be made online and are added to the Wish List document on our website.
“The biodiversity-focused improvements on the Lade is just the first community benefit associated with the CTLR to be agreed.
“The project team is now consulting with local community groups, including in Luncarty and Scone, on other potential community benefits.
“As the CTLR will have an impact on Perth and surrounding areas, a wider distribution of community benefits can be considered.
“Last year the Community Benefit Wish List was highly commended at the UK GO Awards, which celebrates the best procurement achievements from across the UK’s public, private and third sector organisations.”
