Everyday life in Perth and Kinross will come to a standstill on Monday to allow mourners across the region to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Queen on the day of the state funeral.
King Charles III approved the day of his mother’s funeral as a bank holiday during his proclamation ceremony on Saturday.
The period of national mourning will last until at least the following day.
As a result, the region’s schools, nurseries, sports centres, public toilets, and Perth Crematorium and Greyfriars Cemetery, will be closed as the country observes the service at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
Funerals set to take place at the crematorium on Monday have been called off and “have been rearranged”, confirmed Perth and Kinross Council.
All community halls and sports centres – including Bell’s Sports Centre, Dewars Centre, Perth Leisure Pool and Blairgowrie Community Campus – will be closed.
Businesses and attractions including museums and galleries and a large number of retailers and local shops also won’t open, with employers nationwide encouraged to give their staff the day off.
Among those attractions are the Black Watch Castle and Museum, Scottish Crannog Centre, House of Bruar and Scone Palace.
The majority of major retailers and commercial chains shutting on the day include Aldi, Lidl, Iceland, Primark, Marks and Spencers and WHSmith.
Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-op will close their stores until 5pm where some services, including petrol stations, will open up thereafter.
Royal Mail has confirmed it will also suspend its services on the day of the funeral. Waste and recycling bin collections will not take place on the funeral day, with recycling centres also closing.
PKC says it will not be able to offer alternative collection dates for households affected by this as its seven day a week collection timetable does not “have the capacity” to absorb the bin routes at any other time.
Bin collection workers will collect some waste at the side of green-lidded bins on the next collection date, with residents asked not to present bins for collection on Monday.
Excess recycling from blue-lidded and brown-lidded bins can be taken to recycling points or recycling centres when they reopen.
Services for the homeless at Greyfriars House will operate as normal during the bank holiday weekend.
GP surgeries across Perth and Kinross will also close on Monday but COVID vaccination centres will remain open.
Some outpatient procedures will also not be going ahead due to reduced staff numbers on the day, NHS Tayside confirmed.
But the health board, which announced arrangements for the “exceptional bank holiday” on September 19, have confirmed that the vast majority of its services - including emergency services, maternity services, cancer procedures and urgent procedures - will remain open with the emergency departments at Ninewells Hospital and Perth Royal Infirmary operating as normal.
Those staff who remain have been sent to focus on emergency, critical, urgent and cancer services.
GP services will transfer to out-of-hours arrangements on Monday, meaning patients need to call NHS 24 on 111.
A small number of community pharmacies in Tayside will be open on the public holiday.
Many dental practices and opticians will also be observing the public holiday and the public are being asked to check with their own practice and optician if they have an appointment.
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “All patients directly affected by any changes to routine procedures and outpatient clinics will be contacted directly by a member of the NHS Tayside team to reschedule their appointment.
“NHS Tayside understands that these changes to the planned arrangements for Monday may be disappointing to some patients and their families.
“Please be assured our teams will reschedule all appointments and procedures to see patients as quickly as possible.”
