ST KESSOG’S SQUARE
St Kessog’s Square in the heart of the village of Comrie was originally the site of the local garage, the area was sold in 2006 and planning consent for luxury flats agreed. The garage buildings were demolished in 2007 and the site left boarded up. In 2010 the site was leased to the community who turned the area into gardens with parking. Fundraising took place over the next few years to purchase the square, but the fundraising did not reach the sale price. A proposal for a supermarket and flats in 2013 left the village very disappointed and the local shopkeepers worried that their businesses were threatened. A notice from the owner of the square, that the informal lease would not continue and that the square should be returned for development by January 2015 came as another blow to the village.
In December of 2014 an anonymous benefactor made a gift to Comrie Parish Church to buy the square. The Kirk Session of Comrie Parish Church renamed the square as St Kessog’s Square after a local saint who it is believed brought Christianity to Perthshire.
The Kirk Session asked the community to give them ideas on how the ground could be developed to benefit the village as a whole.
The proposals that have been developed by a team of local architects have now received planning permission, and the Kirk Session are pleased to announce that funding has now either been received or pledged to develop this area so that can be enjoyed by all of the community who have come to love this open place in the centre of the village. This provides an area where they can meet and share friendship and enjoy village events for generations to come.