Historic Scotland rejects proposals to demolish Perth City Hall

Proposals to demolish Perth City Hall have been rejected by Historic Scotland.

Last year councillors approved plans to knock down the listed building to make way for a new civic square.

However, due to its listed status the proposals needed the backing of heritage agency Historic Scotland.

It refused the application because it believed Perth and Kinross Council had not fully explored alternatives to demolition.

Perth City Hall was built in 1911, but is in a poor state of repair and has been empty for the past five years.

In a statement, Historic Scotland said: "Any application to demolish a listed building is scrutinised against the Scottish Historic Environment Policy.

"The policy states that no listed building should be demolished unless it has been clearly demonstrated that every effort has been made to retain it."

The agency added: "It is our belief, on the evidence presented by Perth and Kinross Council, that they have not made the case for demolition and that the alternatives have not been fully explored."

A council spokesperson said: "We will consider Historic Scotland's decision carefully and examine the detail of the reasons for refusing this application.

"Our priority is regenerating the city centre and providing jobs, and this will continue to be our focus in our plans for Perth."