Transport planners request further information about ambitious £33.8 million development outside Perth

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Transport planners are seeking further information from the Perthshire company behind a proposed £33.8 million leisure development at West Kinfauns before deciding whether to get on board with the project or not.The Scottish Government’s national transport agency Transport Scotland has said it is looking for “some clarification” around points it has made about Morris Leslie’s application to create a new four-star hotel and museum close to its Caledonian House headquarters.The agency has requested the company provide “further justification” for proposing to form the main road access to the planned development, which would also feature over 50 holiday lodges and associated retail space if approved, via the existing A85(T)/Willowgate Activity Centre junction.It has also questioned why a projected number of vehicle trips to and from the development’s proposed retail element or a planned car workshop have been left out of calculations indicating how much traffic might end up going back and forth on local roads.Transport Scotland’s initial response to the planning application, which was first received by Perth and Kinross Council in October last year, says of Morris Leslie’s transport assessment (TA): “The TA confirms that the principle access to the museum and hotel is proposed to be the A85(T)/Willowgate Activity Centre priority junction.“While Transport Scotland’s pre-application response stated that it would be preferable for access to be taken from the local road network at Walnut Grove rather than directly onto the A85 trunk road, it is acknowledged that further discussions confirmed that Transport Scotland had no objection in principle to the use of an upgraded A85/Willowgate Activity Centre junction.“However it was