PKC Budget Confidence for Business and Investment

Perth and Kinross Council has approved its 2026/27 budget, setting out a clear commitment to economic resilience, infrastructure investment and city centre revitalisation, priorities that reinforce the area’s growing appeal as a place to invest, do business and grow.

Against a backdrop of rising service costs and increasing demand, particularly in health and social care, the Council has taken a balanced approach that protects essential services while continuing to invest in the local economy. For businesses and investors, this signals both stability and long-term strategic planning.

A record £15 million investment in roads, pavements and bridges over the next three years - the largest programme of its kind ever delivered by the Council – sits at the centre of this budget. Alongside enhanced maintenance, including increased gully cleaning and drainage works, this investment will improve connectivity, support supply chains and ensure more reliable movement of goods, services and people across Perth and Kinross.

City centre regeneration and quality of place is a major focus, with a new £200,000 City Centre Improvement Taskforce set to deliver visible enhancements in the months ahead. Aimed at strengthening the trading environment and enhancing the visitor experience, the Taskforce initiative is complemented by funding for greenspace improvements, public realm enhancements and environmental maintenance.

In addition, reduced parking charges in multi-storey car parks aim to encourage longer stays and improve accessibility to the city centre, supporting increased dwell time and customer spend. To bolster this, more than 100 additional public sector roles will relocate to Pullar House in a move that will bring more workers into the city centre daily.

Together, these measures create opportunities for retail, hospitality and service sector businesses, while reinforcing Perth’s role as a vibrant regional hub.

Adapt Your Property Fund Expands to £750,000

The budget includes targeted interventions to unlock commercial property and support business growth. An expansion of the Adapt Your Property initiative, taking it to £750,000 over two years, will help bring vacant buildings back into productive use, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.

In addition to redeveloping existing space, Perth and Kinross Council has recently appointed Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to market phase 1 of the Perth Eco Innovation Park (PEIP) to potential development partners. Once complete, PEIP will provide high-quality space for new and growing businesses in the low-carbon and innovation sectors.

Eric Drysdale, Perth and Kinross Council leader, commented, “This budget sends a strong signal that Perth and Kinross is open for business. Alongside protecting essential services, we are making targeted investments in infrastructure, city centre vitality and commercial property that will support business growth and investor confidence.

“Our record investment in infrastructure is about more than maintenance; it’s about ensuring businesses can operate efficiently, connect to markets and plan for growth with confidence,”

Building a More Resilient Private Sector

Collaboration with the private sector continued as a key theme for 2026/27. Plans for a new business and economic summit - already attracting interest from major employers - will provide a platform to strengthen partnerships, align investment and identify new opportunities for sustainable growth.

Importantly, the budget recognises that a strong economy depends on strong communities. Investment in employability, education, anti-poverty initiatives and local projects will help build a skilled, resilient workforce and support inclusive economic growth across both urban and rural areas.

With a clear focus on infrastructure, regeneration, business support and inclusive growth, Perth and Kinross is positioning itself as one of Scotland’s most attractive locations for investment.

Other inclusions in the budget include:

• £1.3 million for anti-poverty and financial insecurity, rejecting cuts which had been proposed for Citizens Advice Bureau and employability initiatives and adding additional funding for households facing financial insecurity, and support to The Big Hoose and Buttons and Bows projects locally.
• £1.1 million to support local communities to deliver projects to tackle issues in their areas, including improving biodiversity and countering the effects of poverty and the cost of living.
• £306,000 for education and learning to support care-experienced and vulnerable young people, develop outdoor learning spaces for children with more complex additional support needs, and to accelerate repairs and maintenance in rural primary schools.
• £347,000 to support services for our most vulnerable people including RASAC, Women's Aid, The Neuk and community mental health support groups.
• £225,000 to maintain community halls and current opening hours for rural libraries, museums and the art gallery.
• £150,000 to establish a fund to provide grants and advice to owners of properties at risk of flooding in areas not covered by a Flood Risk Management Plan.
• £150,000 for inspections, repairs and maintenance of play park facilities and £100,000 to refurbish the Auchterarder multi-use games area (MUGA).