North Lanarkshire Council cuts 'could shut 40 facilities'

Members of Bellshill Sharks Amateur Swimming Club have highlighted the need to protect the Sir Matt Busby Leisure Centre, describing it as a ‘vital hub’ in North Lanarkshire.

They have launched a petition to show the strength of feeling locally and now want to sit down with North Lanarkshire Council chiefs to drill home the importance of ring-fencing the facility.

It is one of the local authority's eight swimming pools, which include the Time Capsule in Coatbridge and others within sports centres at Wishaw and Shotts, as well as Tryst in Cumbernauld.

It also operates the Aquatec in Motherwell, where the swimming pool and health suite are currently closed; and the standalone John Smith pool in Airdrie which now has reduced opening times - including shutting at 1.30pm on weekends - plus Kilsyth swimming pool.

The review is part of a wider exercise that puts around 40 facilities, including town halls, community hubs and other council-run centres under threat of closure or a reduction in their operating hours.

Bryan Garvie, from Hamilton, is one of those calling for action to protect the Sir Matt Busby ahead of a crunch council meeting on September 28.

The 42-year-old’s daughter Lily attends the Sharks’ session there and he says he is one many people who are determined to see it safeguarded.

He added: “This bustling centre offers a wide range of amenities outside of the pool. There are gym and fitness classes and so much more.

“Not only does it provide essential facilities for our community's physical well-being, but it also serves as a home to numerous clubs like the Sharks, dance schools, football teams, diving and taekwondo clubs. Most importantly, it's where countless individuals learn to swim, a life-saving skill.

“The area has already lost so much, and we can’t afford to see something else go. We want a face-to-face meeting with the council to hammer home the strength of feeling around these proposals.”

Parents say the closure of the Sir Matt Busby would leave only one pool on the south side of the M8.

Sharks secretary Marie Maling said losing the facility would mean talented youngsters could fall away from the sport.

Marie, 42, whose daughter Rebecca, 12, trains with the team every day and is also part of the Scotland squad, explained: “The pool is the fourth most-used facility in North Lanarkshire yet the council would rather close it than find £500,000 that is needed over the next four years for its upkeep.

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“If it goes, then youngsters won’t have the same opportunities to train and go on to compete at the top of the sport like Rebecca has had, it would leave the future of our club in doubt. We could lose our heritage that we’ve worked so hard to build, all because of cost-cutting measures. For me, it’s an absolute disgrace that this place is even under the microscope.”

Sharks head coach Lynsay Murray added: “We’ve trained here for over 50 years and have recently had swimmers selected for Scottish national squads. There is no better feeling than watching our young people achieve their goals, both in and out of the pool.

Bellshill Sharks (Image: Gordon Terris)

“The Sir Matt Busby is a unique centre that attracts clubs from as far afield as Dumfries because of its excellent facilities. We need to celebrate the success of our young people and it is upsetting that NLC seem determined to pull this training facility away from them. Swimming is too often the forgotten sport, we can’t let this be the case again.”

Jim Logue, leader of North Lanarkshire Council, says that the local authority is being backed into difficult decisions due to a lack of support from Holyrood.

He added: “We have been warning for some time that 15 years of insufficient funding to local councils from the Scottish Government will lead to cuts to services that are hugely valued by local people.

“We can see the same pattern repeated in councils the length and breadth of the country, and we are far from alone in making hard decisions about the sustainability of leisure and community facilities.

“In the face of these budget cuts we have done everything possible to protect services. But with £64million to save over the next three years, we are now in the realm of making some very unpalatable decisions, decisions that no councillor would wish to take.”

Councillor Logue says a full report that will review the future of 40 leisure and sports facilities across the area will come before committee later this month.

He added: “Councillors will consider a full report on the exercise to review community facilities on September 28 and will be faced with extremely difficult decisions. The review has been comprehensive and considers usage and condition, as well as the amount of money which would be needed to modernise older facilities.

“The council is continuing with a hugely ambitious investment programme, which will see some facilities replaced in new hubs. But the reality is that we need to meet the needs of people across North Lanarkshire in a way which reduces our overall estate, and which also means the remaining facilities are sustainable.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Work is ongoing with Cosla to establish a new fiscal framework for councils. Despite a decade of UK Government austerity, local government revenue funding in Scotland is higher in real terms than it was in 2013-2014.”