Blairvadach Outdoor Centre saved after Glasgow City Council U-turn

Extra money allocated to the council from a Scottish Government budget deal has allowed the SNP administration to revisit the closure of the popular centre.

The centre was to be closed with a saving of £134,000 noted in the council budget document.

However, it has been revealed that the centre still needs millions of pounds worth of investment to bring it up to required standards.

The decision to save it for the next year is to buy time to find an alternative operating model that will allow the investment to be found.

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Almost 2500 Glasgow schoolchildren visited the centre, near Helensburgh, last year.

For many over the years the centre has been the first time they had a trip outside the city and the opportunity to learn outdoor skills like watersports.

The decision to close it sparked anger among opposition councillors and staff at the centre.

The Glasgow Times reported how a petition was set up immediately which gathered more than 12,000 signatures with many wanting to protect an educational experience they enjoyed for future generations.

One supporter stated: “I went here as a child and truly believe this place has real value to wider development and socialising with others and the great outdoors. These places truly shape lives.”

The deal at Holyrood between the SNP and Greens provided an extra £10.6 million for Glasgow’s budget. The Greens on Glasgow City Council said this cash should be used to keep Blairvadach open.

Chris Cunningham, the council’s education convenor, said that for the last three years closing Blairvadach had been suggested as a savings option but the council had resisted.

Glasgow City Council education convenor Chris Cunningham set out the new plans for Blairvadach Outdoor Education Centre

This year, however, as budgets became ever more challenging, he said it came down to protecting teacher numbers or closing Blairvadach, adding “it was a difficult decision”.

He said the budget deal at Holyrood providing new money meant it could be looked at again.

Mr Cunningham said: “The fact the budget settlement has been disjointed means there’s a second dunt of money that allows us to look at this again.

“The Scottish Government’s budget deal with the Greens has provided additional funding for Glasgow. This gives us the space to focus on an alternative future model for Blairvadach and it therefore will not close.

“Simply saving Blairvadach for another year is not enough in itself. It is showing its age and has suffered many years of underinvestment. The site requires significant investment running into millions of pounds to deliver a sustainable and viable future. “We now have the time and space to explore alternatives to its current arrangements. What they may be is something we’ll have to work through but we’re already exploring what options are best to deliver the investment Blairvadach needs for both residential and outdoor learning. “Although Blairvadach will remain open we know its future is not sustainable under present arrangements. We must now get on with developing future options.”

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The wide range of activities taught at the centre include sailing, hillwalking, orienteering, canoeing and gorge-walking Since it opened in 1974, as many as 110,000 people across three generations of Glasgow’s citizens have been to the centre as children.

When the campaign was launched to save the centre it received support from current pupils, including at Rosshall Academy in Glasgow, who wrote to the city council asking for the closure decision to be reversed.

The letter, which has been published on social media, stated: “While the pupil parliament acknowledges the financial pressures Glasgow faces, we believe this centre provides pupils with an amazing opportunity which grows their skill set immensely and aids them in maturing as young people.

“We believe saving Blairvadach should be a priority for local government as well as the Scottish Government.”