Black Watch Castle & Museum Reports 31% Increase Due to ‘The Hauntings’ Sculpture.

The Hauntings, a scrap metal sculpture of a war-weary soldier, will be on display at five-star, awardwinning visitor attraction The Black Watch Castle and Museum in Perth between 1st July and 12th November 2023.

As the only Scottish venue to host the sculpture to date, the team at the Castle and Museum has arranged a series of events for locals and visitors alike including arts and crafts, tours, and lectures, all created to engage and entertain visitors of all ages, and to drive the tourism experience and greater economic impact.

Caroline Warburton, VisitScotland Destination Development Director, said, “The opening of The Hauntings exhibition at the Black Watch Castle and Museum is a fantastic addition to Perth’s strong arts and cultural offer.”

She continued, “Excitement for the only Scottish appearance of this remarkable art sculpture has been building in recent months and it is sure to attract visitors from across the country, providing a boost for the city’s economy and tourism businesses and showcasing Perth and Perthshire as a world-class tourism destination.”

Since its arrival on 1st July, Black Watch Castle and Museum have seen an increase in footfall of +31% compared to the same period last year.

They have welcomed visitors from all over Scotland and the UK, and as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, The United States, Belgium, Holland, Latvia and more, who are enjoying all areas of the business.

There has also been an increased number of families and children in attendance; anecdotal evidence suggests they are visiting and learning about The Hauntings sculpture, and enjoying the wider offer, such as Family Crafts and Museum Explorers’ Club.

The Hauntings stands in the Castle Courtyard and is free to view. The volunteer Hauntings Helpers host free five-minute talks on the hour, every hour, which take place next to The Hauntings sculpture. The talks explore the inspiration, design, build and themes that it represents.

£50M Contract for Paprec Energies Binn Ltd

Perth & Kinross Council has awarded a significant 10-year contract worth £50 million to treat residual waste and turn it into energy.

Paprec Energies Binn Ltd will work in partnership with PKC to manage waste through a thermal treatment, energy recovery and recycling solution.

To facilitate this, a new ‘Energy from Waste’ facility is being developed at Binn Ecopark in Glenfarg, realising an investment of over £90 million. Once operational the facility will generate heat and electric power, adding capacity to their existing private renewable energy grid which has the potential to extend into Perth.

Currently, around 40,000 tonnes of nonrecyclable waste collected in Perth and Kinross each year is sent to landfill, but this will no longer be permitted under new Scottish landfill regulations coming into force at the end of 2025.

Councillor Andrew Parrott, Convener for the Environment, Infrastructure & Economic Development Committee, added, “This energy from waste solution offers a safer and less environmentally damaging way of treating unavoidable non-recyclable waste that previously went to landfill. Still, we recognise that avoiding waste in the first place must be the main priority and encourage residents to continue to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.”

Paprec Energies Binn Ltd is a new company incorporated to develop the energy from waste facility at Binn Farm, Glenfarg and the parent companies are Paprec Energies UK Ltd and Binn Group Ltd.