Hansard

I am grateful to have the opportunity to bring this motion to Parliament, and I immediately put on record my thanks to all the members across the chamber who have given the motion their support.

The UK city of culture competition, which is run by the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport is—I think we all agree—a great opportunity for any UK city to both celebrate and promote its unique culture. Judging by what has been achieved to date by cities in the competition—for example, Derry/Londonderry in 2013, which I thought was absolutely fantastic—and what is planned for the future with Hull in 2017, the potential benefits are significant, so it was very welcome news that Perth and Kinross Council was putting together a bid for Perth for 2021.

Perth is, of course, at the very heart of Scotland’s story. Once just beyond the very northern edge of the Roman empire, it is where ancient Scotland and the kingdom of Alba were forged; and it was, of course, once the capital and the crowning place of Scottish kings. Scone palace—immortalised in “Macbeth”—remains a lasting symbol of Perth’s historic and royal connections, and was the most fitting venue when Her Majesty the Queen bestowed city status on Perth just a few years ago, in 2012.

In economic terms, Perth, intimately tied with the River Tay, has always been an important focus for employment, investment and trade. However, its rich cultural heritage is now becoming just as important. The fair city is the place that inspired Walter Scott to write “The Fair Maid of Perth”, which inspired George Bizet’s opera of the same name. Perth has therefore had plenty of reason throughout history to celebrate its culture, but it is ambitious to do so much more and to build on the highly successful Perth festival of the arts, which was founded in 1972; and on the magnificent art collections in the museums and galleries, including the Fergusson gallery, which celebrates the life and work of the celebrated Scottish colourist, John Duncan Fergusson, whose wife, Margaret Morris, was the pioneer of modern dance.

The city was home to glass producers including Vasart and Monart, which during their heyday of the 1930s were Scotland’s answer to the French art-glass movement. The glass was celebrated for its vivid spiralling colours in the fashionable emporia of London and New York, and it put Perth—and Scotland—on the world arts map. Even today, Perth museum and art gallery is home to one of Europe’s most important collections of glass, including the highly valued Vasart and Monart paperweights.

Perth is home to two theatres: Perth theatre, and the concert hall, which—apart from attracting Scotland’s political parties for their conference seasons—has a remarkable record in hosting some of the finest international artistes in the world of music and drama. Perth theatre, which was constructed in 1900, is one of Scotland’s oldest and most historic repertory theatres. We are all looking forward to the £16 million state-of-the-art redevelopment, which by 2017 will have built a new complex to house studio and art space, a youth theatre, a construction workshop and a series of front-of-house performance areas in addition to the main focus of the conservation and restoration of the historic Edwardian auditorium.

That is all part of Perth and Kinross Council’s effort over the past two years to set out a long-term approach to develop the city’s unique cultural assets and strengths, and to bring forward an investment programme that is focused on Perth becoming a cultural hub for the central part of Scotland.

Alongside the Perth theatre redevelopment, there is the Mill Street regeneration, and there are new proposals to further develop the Perth museum and the art gallery and exciting plans to develop a city cultural quarter. In short, it is a plan to ensure that Perth city becomes the most desirable place in Scotland in which to live, work, invest and enjoy a rich diversity of cultural experience, and a plan that will improve connectivity, develop the knowledge economy and strengthen the opportunities for business and tourism.

Being named UK city of culture brings with it the opportunity for the winning city to host UK cultural events such as the Turner prize, which was awarded in Scotland for the first time in Glasgow’s Tramway arts centre; the Man Booker prize; and the Stirling prize.

If the bid is successful, the whole of Perthshire and Kinross-shire could benefit from thousands of additional visitors, which could lead to an estimated £60 million boost for the local economy. Importantly, the bid has the potential to act as a catalyst for key regeneration projects. It is hoped that there could be long-term help for some of the neglected areas such as Bridgend, and a long-term future for St Paul’s church.

As I mentioned earlier, it is only three years since Perth had its city status restored to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012. Perth’s bid for the city of culture represents an exciting opportunity to put Perth, and Perthshire and Kinross-shire, firmly on the culture map of the United Kingdom, and to raise Perth’s international profile.

I know that, to some extent, the UK city of culture 2021 competition is set to pit two of Scotland’s great cities beginning with P against each other. I am pleased to see the member for Paisley sitting in the chamber, because I know that the bidding process, although it will be very competitive and intense, will nonetheless be good for all the cities that compete, as it will make them focus on what the future can deliver in terms of a diverse and vibrant arts culture.

As members will know, Perth is a relatively small city, with the population standing at approximately 47,000. However, I believe that that is not the important thing. The deciding factor ought to be what a city can offer in terms of important cultural diversity. The former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Ben Bradshaw, said something very interesting when he announced the launch of the UK city of culture initiative. He said:

“Culture is something that we are incredibly good at in the UK. But excellence and innovation in the arts does not begin and end inside the M25 and I believe we have been too London-centric for too long in our cultural life.”

I agree entirely with that comment.

The quality of the cultural organisations that are based in the area is exceptional. Those include Horsecross Arts, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Perth Festival of the Arts and many more. Culture is central to the city’s future aspirations, in terms of the economic benefits that it can deliver and its wider transformative power to improve the quality of life and build a sense of identity and civic pride across the communities.

I look forward to working with colleagues on all sides of the chamber, and I hope that Perth will be well considered in the competition.