Disposal - Part of the Navigate Building, George Inn Lane, Perth
Perth and Kinross Council · 22 June 2026
Back to Perth Common Good Fund Committee — 22 June 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Perth Common Good Fund Committee Date of Meeting: 22 June 2026 Report Title: Disposal - Part of the Navigate Building, George Inn Lane, Perth Report Number: 26/180 Report Author: Alan Campbell, Estates Surveyor Organisational Lead: Serge Merone, Strategic Lead – Economy, Development & Planning ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this Report is to seek the Committee’s approval for disposing of a vacant part of the Navigate building, George Inn Lane, a common good property that is partly vacant and partly in operational use. 1.2 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendation 3. Background/Context 4. Main Issues 5. Proposals 6. Conclusion 7. Impact Value Assessment 8. Appendices 2. Recommendation It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Agrees to the sale of the subjects to Lock Terrace Ltd or their nominees on the terms set out in this report, or otherwise on terms to be agreed by the Strategic Leads for Economy, Development & Planning and Legal & Governance.
Page 2
3. Background/Context 3.1 The Council owns the Navigate building, a two-storey office building with single-storey garage annex located on George Inn Lane within the Perth Central conservation area. The building is recognised as common good property and is held on the Perth Common Good Fund account. It is shown on the location plan at Appendix 1 as Areas A and B. 3.2 The two-storey northmost section of the Navigate building is occupied by the Council’s Navigate service. With the exception of a plant room and fire escape serving the operational part of the building, the two-storey middle section of the building has been unused for several years, other than for limited storage purposes, and it is not in an occupiable condition at present. The single-storey southmost section of the building is a garage used formerly to house the Provost’s car; it has been vacant since 2024 when parking provision was relocated to Council Headquarters. 3.3 In December 2025, Councillors nominated Lock Terrace Ltd and its directors as the developer for the proposed ‘The Heiton’ hotel development at 1-5 High Street, following a due diligence review prompted by changes in the status of the previously preferred bidder (Report No. 25/355 refers). Planning permission for the development, subject to conditions, was also granted in November 2025 (Planning Ref. 24/01613/FLL). The hotel development is expected to generate new employment opportunities, increase visitor footfall, and support surrounding businesses. 3.4 Lock Terrace Ltd has advised that the successful conversion of 1-5 High Street into a hotel is dependent on housing the hotel’s laundry facility (for storage of linen and other hotel consumables) and staff welfare facilities (staff kitchen and dining area, toilets and showering facilities) within an ancillary property in close proximity to 1-5 High Street. A vacant part of the Navigate building has been identified by the hotel developer as the preferred location for these facilities. Locating the laundry and staff welfare facilities within the buildings at 1-5 High Street instead would reduce the proposed hotel’s room count and have a negative impact on the scheme’s viability. 4. Main Issues 4.1 The main issue that this report is intended to address is the disposal of part of Navigate Building, a common good property. 5. Proposals 5.1 To support the ‘The Heiton’ hotel development at 1-5 High Street, officers recommend selling the southmost section and part of the lower storey of the middle section of the Navigate building to Lock Terrace Ltd, in order to facilitate their conversion into a laundry facility and staff welfare facilities.
Page 3
5.2 With reference to the location plan at Appendix 1: - Area A denotes the proposed common good disposal subjects (the single-storey garage and part of the lower storey of the middle section of the Navigate building); - Area B denotes the remainder of the Navigate Building, which is part vacant and part operational, being occupied by the Council’s Navigate service; and - Where Areas A and B overlap, it is part of the Navigate building’s lower storey that forms part of Area A, and part of the upper storey that forms part of Area B. - Area C denotes the extent of the property at 1-5 High Street that will be redeveloped by Lock Terrace Ltd under their ‘The Heiton’ hotel scheme. 5.3 Disposal terms have been agreed in principle with Lock Terrace Ltd. The key terms are set out below: − The sale price of the common good disposal subjects will be equal to their Market Value currently considered to be between £15,000 and £18,000. We do not consider that it is likely there will be any material change to this range before Missives are concluded. − The purchaser will be solely responsible for all costs incurred in the separation of the Navigate building into two independent premises. − The purchaser will be responsible for obtaining all necessary statutory consents for the separation works. − The common good disposal subjects would form part of the leased subjects under the development lease to be granted to Lock Terrace Ltd for 1-5 High Street to implement the proposed development, and ownership of both 1-5 High Street and the part of the Navigate building would transfer upon completion of the proposed ‘The Heiton’ hotel development. 5.4 The sale receipt arising from the disposal of the common good subjects (net of transaction costs) will be allocated to the Perth Common Good Fund. 5.5 The proposed disposal will not impair the Council’s continued ownership and use of the retained parts of the Navigate building, which would continue to be held on the Perth Common Good Fund account. The Council would continue to access the retained parts of the Navigate building from the main entrance on George Inn Lane. The purchaser would access the disposal subjects via the courtyard and pend off Tay Street that are already part of the proposed hotel development subjects (shown within Area C on the location plan at Appendix 1). 5.6 The planning application for the hotel development that was approved in November 2025 (Planning Ref. 24/01613/FLL) included conversion of the middle and southmost sections of the Navigate building as well as the primary 1-5 High Street subjects.
Page 4
5.7 Section 104 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 requires the local authority to consult with the local community when it is planning to dispose of a common good property. The local authority must publish details of the proposed disposal, and they must also notify and invite representations from community councils and community bodies. There is no established community council for the Central area in which the subjects are located and there are no community bodies known to have an interest in the property. 5.8 Details of the proposed disposal were published on the Council’s Consultation Hub website, where an eight-week public consultation opened on 2 March 2026 that welcomed the views of current and former residents of Perth on both the general principle of disposing of part of the Navigate building, and the specific proposal to sell part of the Navigate building to Lock Terrace Ltd. 5.9 Under the terms of Section 104 of the 2015 Act, the Committee must have regard to the consultation responses in deciding whether to dispose of the subjects, since it is held as part of the common good. 5.10 A total of 39 responses were submitted via the Council’s Consultation Hub website, of which 35 were submitted by residents and former residents of Perth. Consultation responses are provided in full in Appendix 2. 5.11 While a significant number of consultation responses referred to the Council’s earlier decision to dispose of 1–5 High Street and associated matters, it is important to note that this report concerns a separate and specific proposal: the disposal of part of the Navigate building. The decision to dispose of 1–5 High Street has already been taken and is not the subject of this report or of the current consultation. 5.12 The other concerns raised in the consultation responses are about the principle of disposing of common good property and whether best value is being achieved. These matters are addressed within the report, which confirms that the subjects are partly vacant and not in occupiable condition with restricted access, that the proposed sale range price reflects best consideration (being market value), and that disposal proceeds will be credited to the Perth Common Good Fund. The report also explains that the disposal is required to support the delivery of a development which is expected to generate economic and regeneration benefits for Perth. 5.13 Having considered the consultation responses alongside these factors, officers remain of the view that the proposed disposal is appropriate. 5.14 The Council is required to fulfil its statutory duties under Best Value, as set out in Section 1 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. Relevant aspects of this duty include: − Making best use of public resources, including land and property. − Being open and transparent in transactions. − Ensuring sound financial controls are in place to minimise the risk of fraud and error.
Page 5
− Assessing the full financial consequences of decisions at an appropriate level before major financial decisions are taken or commitments entered into. − Demonstrating responsiveness to the needs of communities, citizens, customers, and other stakeholders, where relevant. 5.15 The Council is also required to comply with Section 74 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and the Disposal of Land by Local Authorities (Scotland) Regulations 2010 when disposing of land and buildings. 5.16 Setting the sale price at market value ensures that the proposed disposal is compliant with the 1973 Act and the 2010 Regulations. When seeking to dispose of a property, there is no statutory requirement for local authorities to undertake a marketing exercise. The disposal subjects have not individually been marketed for sale, and the Council is not under any obligation to consider any unsolicited offers that are made. The subjects were expressly included within the original marketing particulars and therefore formed part of the site opportunity presented to the market from the outset. While it was not taken forward at that earlier stage, the evolution of the scheme has confirmed that the subjects are now essential to its delivery. It is the stated aim of Scottish Ministers to give local authorities the freedom to exercise their own judgement and discretion in disposing of land to best meet local needs and priorities. Lock Terrace Ltd seek to purchase the subjects to underpin their ‘The Heiton’ hotel scheme, which the Council is supportive of, and which represents a strategic opportunity to enhance Perth’s tourism infrastructure, stimulate local economic growth, and preserve a historically significant asset within Perth city centre. 6 Conclusion 6.1 Officers recommend that the Committee agrees to sell a vacant part of the Navigate building to Lock Terrace Ltd or their nominees, on the terms set out in this report or otherwise on terms to be agreed by the Strategic Leads for Economy, Development & Planning and Legal & Governance. This disposal will support the ‘The Heiton’ hotel development at 1-5 High Street by enabling the conversion of the disposal subjects by the nominated developer into a laundry facility and staff welfare facilities. 7. Impact Value Assessment Disposal_-_Part_of_the_Navigate_Building__George_Inn_Lane__Perth.pdf 8. Appendices Appendix 1 - Deed Plan Appendix 2 - Responses to consultation