Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust marks accomplishments
Date: Tuesday 11 November
The team behind Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust (BRDT) reflected on a fulfilling year for the community-led organisation at its AGM on Thursday, November 6th, 2025.
More than 30 people attended the meeting, which was held in Blairgowrie Town Hall.
The trust works with local people, community groups, businesses, the local authority and other stakeholders to help support and encourage a thriving and attractive town with a strong sense of community and identity and to have a positive impact for those who live, work and visit Blairgowrie and Rattray.
Speaking at the meeting, BRDT chair Linda Tait looked back at some of the highlights of the Trust’s activities in the previous year.
She said: “There have been quite a few achievements this year, but there are three in particular that I would like to highlight.
“The first of these is celebrating the first anniversary of the local community successfully running the public toilets, which have proved to be the much-needed facility our community believed them to be.
“The second is the creation of a well thought out, community-led Local Place Plan and being first community to register their plan with Perth and Kinross Council.
“Thirdly, we have spent a considerable amount of time developing a new Discover Blairgowrie website to promote our town and all the wonderful things that are happening here.
“We were delighted to be invited to the Scottish Parliament last week to celebrate being shortlisted in the 2025 Scotland Loves Local Awards in the Town of the Year category, which is testament to everyone’s efforts to make our town a wonderful place for people to live, work and visit.
“Everything we do at Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust is guided by the community and supported by some amazingly dedicated, enthusiastic and hard-working volunteers, as well as local businesses.
“One of our aims for next year is to get out and about and share with a much wider audience the stories of the good work that is being done in our town and the benefits it is having for our community. This will help us attract funding, expertise and the partnerships we need to achieve even more.”
BRDT has a number of core activities including The HEAT Project, Booklore, the BaRI Food Project, Rattray Community Garden, The Hub Magazine and Discover Blairgowrie website, and Biodiversity Blair, all of which aim to contribute to improving the experience of the town for the benefit of all. In the past year it has also incorporated the responsibilities of the former business association in the town by leading a new Business Focus Group.
Looking ahead to the coming year, the team shared a snapshot of its Town Projects framework, which will help facilitate the delivery of the aspirations of the Community Action Plan and the Local Place Plan.
In addition, there are plans to expand the BaRI Food Project to include an online marketplace, to increase the digital and social media profile of Blairgowrie ad Rattray, to research potential local energy initiatives and advocate for the needs of the town to be effectively represented in the next Local Development Plan.
The AGM also saw the election of two new trustees to the board. Stuart Nichol and Phil Seymour, who have both previously served on the board of trustees, were elected as trustees. Linda Tait, Tracie Dick and William Wilson were re-elected as trustees at the meeting.
Linda continued: “BRDT is a community-led organisation working with and within the community to make the town stand out and be noticed as a caring and vibrant town.
“We couldn’t do any of what we do without the support of our community and the hundreds of volunteers whose efforts make this town what it is.
“Blairgowrie and Rattray is the largest town in Perthshire and we are very fortunate to have more than 2000 volunteers and some 150 community groups and organisations in Blairgowrie and Rattray who make a really positive difference.
“Some 180 volunteers help BRDT achieve its goals for the town and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for everything that they do.
“I would also like to thank my colleagues on the board for giving up their time and expertise to help shape the organisation into a strong and sustainable institution, and our team of staff and contractors who do such a great job supporting the Trust.
“Last but not least, a big thank you to all of the residents who care! You make all the difference and are greatly appreciated for helping to lead the way forward this past year.
“We are always keen to hear from people who have ideas for the future of the town or who would like to get involved either with the trust itself or by volunteering with any of our projects – from small acts of goodness, bigger acts will grow and flourish, so please get in touch and let’s work towards securing a brighter future for our town!”
For further information on BRDT see the website at www.brdt.org.uk, or to get involved, either individually or through a group, please email admin@brdt.org.uk.
Local residents and representatives from local groups can also find out more about what’s going on in the town by attending monthly catch-up meetings and the quarterly forum meetings which take place online and are open to everyone. For the link to attend, email admin@discoverblairgowrie.co.uk
For further information or media enquiries, please contact Clare McMicking on 07514 343 042 or clare@craicncommunications.scot
