SSEN has lodged ambitious plans for a brand new £15 million office building on the outskirts of Perth, sparking hope for a local jobs boost.
The major electricity distribution and transmission network company submitted its proposals for the two-storey building at Inveralmond Industrial Estate to Perth and Kinross Council last week.
However, the planning application by SSEN does not confirm how many jobs could be created during or after the construction of the proposed building.
The new office would be located at the end of Ruthvenfield Way next to City Plumbing and Lewis Don vehicle repairs, if approved.
Staff will continue to work at both Inveralmond House and Grampian House nearby even if the project gets the green light.
Transmission team workers will to move into the office space vacated by OVO Energy later this year, who took over the retail arm of SSEN in January 2020 and revealed three months ago it was closing its Perth operations based at Grampian House, shedding 222 jobs.
SSEN says the expansion plan is due to the “significant growth in electricity transmission planned across the north of Scotland”.
The plans will be considered by Perth and Kinross Council in the next few months.
A spokesperson for SSEN said: “To support our future operations across the north of Scotland and significant growth plans – for context, we expect to invest around £4 billion from March 2021 to April 2026 and already have visibility of an additional £5bn of investment out to the early 2030s – this will see significant increase in headcount across our main sites, including Perth, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen.
“We’re also progressing plans for a new operational depot in Aberdeen and new warehouses in Dundee and Inverness, and have already taken over an entire floor vacated by OVO in our Glasgow office, as well as retaining our existing area.”
Chief executive of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, Vicki Unite, said: “Any prospect of jobs in Perth and the surrounding areas will be warmly welcomed, particularly in the aftermath of a number of blows recently involving SSE and the devastation that COVID has wreaked.
“We know what a fantastic place Perth is as a business hub and at the chamber we have been urging key decision-makers throughout the UK to recognise that too for some time now.
“Hopefully this boost will happen and it can act as a fillip for our local economy.”
