| All 66 homes for sale as part of the area’s regeneration project have now been sold, and landlords Perthshire Housing Association have successfully rented all 38 of their properties on the site.
Alongside more than £400,000 of improvements in and around Perth and Kinross Council homes, the regeneration project has seen construction company Mansell clear large areas of unwanted tenements and replace them with more modern homes.
Muirton’s councillor Gordon Hunter welcomed the news with “delight” today, saying it means “the project is now, in effect, finished.”
He said, “I have asked for removal of the works signs as soon as possible now we’re in the New Year, and hopefully the final storage unit at the Ainslie Place/ Balhousie Street junction can be removed when the snagging works are completed.
“I was also happy that Mansell managed, after some pressure from local residents and myself, to complete the road closures before the Christmas holidays.
“The delay in completing them caused a lot of frustration and hopefully, now they’re done, locals can have a period of peace and quiet to settle into their new homes — and to let the existing residents get back to some kind of normality after living in a construction site for so long.”
Mr Hunter described as “incredible” the change caused by the end of the works, explaining they left him dealing with residents’ concerns ranging from muddy roads to construction traffic.
However, he continued, “I hope in the future people will be more supportive of Muirton, its abilities and prime location.
“I have learned a lot of lessons from this project that will stand me in good stead for any future plans for Muirton.
“I’m particularly pleased with the efforts by PHA to make it a success and to help coordinate all the different parties in the liaison meetings, and their efforts help the flow of information as well as giving people the opportunity to raise concerns.
“This is a model I would insist is in place for any new-build project and for other local projects such as the new school campus and the running track if it all goes ahead.”
Councillor Hunter concluded, “New houses can often bring new problems and already the main issue raised with me is the council tax bandings.
“This is pretty steep and is particularly punishing to the PHA tenants who have experienced a severely steep rise in rent and council tax if they have moved from a council property in the area.
“I promise I will look into the matter as soon as possible.” |
