Proposed Lease, Area of Bus/Coach Spaces, South Inch Car Park, Perth

Overview

The Council has agreed terms in principle with Ember Core Limited for a lease of an area of the bus spaces in the South Inch Car park, Perth as a location to install a charging facility to support buses and routes running from Perth City Centre. The lease subjects are shown outlined in red on plan (D-P-103a) below.

Ember Core Limited own and run electric intercity buses on routes from Dundee to Ediburgh but are looking at future expansion, including the potential for routes for Perth City Centre.  Ember Core Limited have submitted a bid for new vehicles and charging infrastructure as part of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB 2), and Perth and Kinross Council has provided Ember Core Limited with a letter of support for the principle of establishing a bus charging hub in Perth City Centre located in the South Inch Car Park bus/coach spaces 

It is proposed that the lease be granted on the following main terms, namely:

• Lease to be for a term of 15 years
• The subjects to be used as a site for operating a high-speed charging station for electric buses and coaches only
• Rent is to be a comparable market value and is to be reviewed every year to ensure the rent payable by the tenant matches PKC’s parking charges for coach spaces within the South Inch Car Park as at that time or the current rent passing, whichever is higher.
• There is to be provision for a Landlord and Tenant break option (an option to terminate the lease) at the 5^th and 10^th anniversary of the lease commencement date. 
• The Council will reserve the right to alter the location of the allocated bus spaces.
•  on such other normal commercial terms for such a lease.

Why your views matter

The proposed leased subjects have Common Good status and the Council is required to consult as part of the requirement in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to capture the opinions of the community in the decision-making process. The aim of this consultation is therefore to provide an opportunity to comment on the proposal to grant a lease to Ember Core Limited.

Please note that the content of any representations made and the details of the party or parties making such representations may appear in a publicly available report to the Perth Common Good Committee of the Council.

What happens next

Any comments on the proposed lease to Ember Core Limited will be relayed to the Perth Common Good Fund Committee as part of the approval process to grant the lease.