Civic follies
II. Pitlochry

Cheap as chips

Barbara Millar

Queen Victoria liked Pitlochry. She visited the sleepy Highland town in 1842 and, according to her diaries, described it as 'one of the finest resorts in Europe'. The town has, understandably, been making the most of its Victorian connections ever since.
     The railway came to Pitlochry in 1863, opening up its future as a tourism centre. It was followed in the next decade by the creation of a strictly temperance hydropathic establishment – the Atholl Palace – which offered clients fashionable treatments based on the internal and external application of water, together with the taking of plenty of healthy air and a plain diet. Victoria would have commended such an approach.
     But that was well over 100 years ago. What of Pitlochry now? It is still described in almost every guidebook as 'picturesque', 'charming' and 'surrounded by spectacular scenery', and is a popular stop for visitors, boasting two distilleries, the Festival Theatre, a salmon ladder, a wealth of floral displays, and the close proximity of Blair Castle and the Pass of Killiecrankie.
     But the fortunes of this genteel Victorian town are now under threat, many fear, because of a proposed development variously described as 'inappropriate', 'uninspired' and, emotively, 'a scheme that will ruin Pitlochry for generations to come'.

The proposals involve the demolition of the former Old Bank House (once, as the name suggests, a bank, latterly a backpackers' hostel) and a defunct bakery nearby. Neither building is classified but both fall within the new Pitlochry conservation area.
     The plans for the Old Bank House site include a two-storey building offering 16 flats above six ground-floor retail units and 53 parking spaces, while the former bakery location has been earmarked for a ground-floor retail unit with a 52-bed hotel above. While many agree that the two buildings at the heart of the proposals certainly need some immediate attention, there is much disquiet about what the suggested plans, if passed by Perth and Kinross Council, will do to the ambience of the town.
     Jim Tyrell, owner of the Wellwood House guest house in Pitlochry, is spearheading a movement to find 'a plan Pitlochry will be proud of'. The present plans 'are a tourist town's nightmare', he says. Mr Tyrell believes that what the town is in danger of getting is a cheap chain hotel, piggy-backed on top of an inner city store. This 'ill-conceived development' will destroy Atholl Road's already tenuous link with the 1800s, he argues. 'No more will our town have an authentic period feel. Instead, it will be just another lovely Scottish town ruined.'
     The hotel, he says, will be 'facility-barren', with no restaurant, bar or lounges. 'It will be stripped of anything that costs money, and will share its entrance with van deliveries to the grocery store. Quite horrific.'
     The Old Bank House site, instead of housing a block of flats, could become a much-needed focal point, a sympathetically developed town square, he suggests. 'Imagine the architecturally distinct old Zion church as a backdrop to a renovated Bank House, with covered walkways across the Moulin burn, and cafes and character shops of vernacular design. How much better is that than a block of flats dominating the skyline, obscuring the view of the church, with shops below of little or no aesthetic value. Our main street is a delight to stroll down on a bright summer day. We have to keep it that way, or the tourists will simply bypass our town, as the discerning ones already bypass Aviemore.'
    
Make no mistake, tourists are the lifeblood of Pitlochry. The town has a population of some 2,500 and around 20% of the local workforce is involved in the service industry. But, warns Jim Tyrell, there is already bed over-capacity in the town, so the only way a new 52-bed hotel could survive would be to 'mop up' all the passing trade.
     He is concerned that a 'cheap-as-chips' hotel, perhaps using aggressive price-driven marketing, would leave nothing for those offering a traditional service. 'Such traditional providers are the small hoteliers, B&B and guest house owners, whose livelihoods and attendant employment would be at risk,' he points out. 'In turn, there would be a knock-on effect on the prosperity of local traders and their employees, which could jeopardise as many as 200 current local incomes.'
     For those who might dismiss this as scaremongering, he has a quick response. 'This has happened all over Scotland already,' he points out. 'The fear is that the hard-won international reputation of Pitlochry, that brings sedate, well-informed tourists flocking – and returning – to the town, will swiftly disappear altogether.'
     Mr Tyrell would like to see an architectural competition with a cash prize to tempt various Scottish schools of architecture into designing a new town square. 'The brief would be to create a commercially viable plan to make central Pitlochry even more attractive to the tourist trade, without damage to the infrastructure, and in keeping with the existing town buildings. Our aim is simply to protect our town centre from wanton, unsympathetic development. All will be lost if we sit back and wait for others to do what we should be doing ourselves.'
     A sentiment of which one is sure Queen Victoria would firmly approve.

Barbara Millar is a journalist