At a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s finance committee in June, councillors voted to spend £8.7 million on improving the facilities at Pitlochry High School and creating more affordable housing in the town.  

Pitlochry Community Action Trust welcomes the decision to give the green light to what is a significant investment in our town that should benefit people of all ages in the community. 

This investment will provide our young people with an enhanced learning environment, ensure the school is at the heart of the community and secure its future for generations to come.

The provision of additional affordable housing is also particularly welcome as it is one of the biggest challenges we face in Pitlochry, as was highlighted in the community action plan consultation exercise two years ago.

An increase in the provision of leisure facilities in the town in terms of longer opening hours is another positive outcome that should benefit local people and the council’s commitment to supporting efforts by the local community to look at the feasibility of a possible asset transfer of Pitlochry Town Hall and the Cloichard depot is also welcome.

We are aware that there are some concerns locally about the implications of these proposals but hope that as the plans are finalised those concerns will be allayed, and we also hope that the council will take on board feedback from the community about how the asset review was carried out when they are rolling it out in other areas.

This decision is just the start of a much bigger process and we look forward to working closely with the council, the school and other local organisations over the coming months on the design and development of the more detailed proposals for the various facilities.