Perth City Hall in Scotland may be spared from demolition and redeveloped as a boutique hotel after local councillors were urged to perform a volte-face and back new plans.

They had previously voted to tear down the B-listed (Scotland’s equivalent to Grade II listing) building, but Perth Council’s development management committee has recommended that the full council approve the project.

Developer the Seventy Group has produced plans for a 32-bedroom five-star hotel in the Edwardian building – with designs from Simpson & Brown Architects – and claims to have had interest from international hotel chains and management companies.

The hotel would also include a bar and a restaurant open to the public, plus banqueting facilities for 100 guests.

The hall was closed nearly nine years ago, when the city’s new concert hall opened, and was due to be pulled down to create a new city square. This proposal was fiercely-opposed by local residents and Historic Scotland blocked a move from the council to tear down the hall in 2012.

The hotel proposals will now go to a vote before the full council, where details such as the building’s lease will also be discussed.

Development quality officer Nick Brian recommended approval in his report to councillors, subject to conditions aimed at protecting the fabric of the building which dates back to 1911.

He said: "The proposal involves limited intervention to the external fabric of the building and as such the overall character of the listed building is being retained.

"The works proposed will result in a completed scheme which meets the overarching aims of the local development plan by introducing a viable commercial use into the building.