Perth and Kinross Council and partners are set to progress community-led projects aimed at revitalising homes and improving rural transport links, following a winning bid for Innovate UK Pathfinder Places funding.

Funding of £150,000 has been secured following a successful Phase 1 Pathfinder Places project in mid-2023 undertaken by the Council in partnership with Nicki Souter Associates Ltd, the University of Edinburgh and The HEAT Project (part of Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust). The proposed projects that will be supported by this funding were voted on by local residents and businesses.

Revitalising Homes will look at creating a sustainable, one-stop-shop retrofit project for housing throughout the Perth and Kinross Council area, with the majority of work centred on developing schemes that will be available for use by homeowners and private and social housing landlords alike.

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Connecting Regional Travel will explore the viability of two new services focusing on the rural town of Aberfeldy: one looking at an express bus route to Perth, and the other concentrating on a minibus service connecting surrounding villages with Aberfeldy. Recent community engagement carried out by Rural Transport Futures will be taken into consideration, and the project will be carried out in consultation with the Upper Tay Transport Group.

In addition, it will investigate the capacity to synchronise bus timetables with key destinations such as healthcare services and train stations, provision of express bus services and other transport options including reduced-cost fare options to promote demand and encourage people to choose other options for their daily commute, in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles on local roads.

Councillor Richard Watters, Convener of the Council's Climate Change & Sustainability Committee, said: "This is fantastic news and reflects the commitment the Council has made to work in partnership with communities and to develop a resilient, stronger and greener local economy. My thanks go to everyone involved in Phase 1 and I look forward to seeing Phase 2 moving forward in the months ahead."