A Perth disability charity has emerged as an unexpected key player ahead of a crunch council vote on the city’s future leisure facilities.
On Wednesday, councillors will rule on a £97 million package that could see Capability Scotland move its Upper Springland campus to the site of Perth Leisure Pool.
If approved, the ageing pool will be demolished when a £74m replacement opens at Thimblerow.
Capability Scotland chiefs have been eager to move from Upper Springland for some time.
The charity works with around 100 adults with complex and severe needs at the Perth campus.
But the facilities there – three registered care homes, a day service, hydrotherapy pool, theatre, and landscaped gardens – are also ageing, and at risk of flooding from the River Tay.
Capability Scotland had been pursuing a site at Bertha Park in a partnership with housing developer Springfield.
But the costs there have rocketed beyond its means.
And it says Perth Leisure Pool’s more central Glover Street site offers many more benefits for its 100 service-users and 200-plus staff.
Perth Leisure Pool site decision is ‘right one’ for charity and city
Capability Scotland has now parted ways with Springfield and is said to be in “advanced discussions” with Perth and Kinross Council.
The charity’s chief executive Brian Logan said: “This was not a decision taken lightly, but it’s the right one.
“Our unwavering focus is on delivering a sustainable, inclusive community that improves quality of life for the people we support.
“This revised route gives us the best opportunity to achieve that.”
Critics of the council’s leisure plans have raised concerns about the potential for surface water flooding at Glover Street too.
Capability Scotland says feasibility studies, undertaken with the council and independent experts, have identified ways to mitigate any risks.
Council leader Grant Laing says the new plan would unlock external investment and bring more than 200 jobs into the heart of the city.
But he has also hailed its potential to help those who rely on Capability Scotland’s care in Perth at the moment.
“Their lives are rooted here,” he said.
“And this proposal ensures they can remain part of the community they know and trust.“
Pool plan part of wider Perth and Kinross leisure investment
Councillors will vote on the package when the full council meets on Wednesday.
They approved a new PH2O leisure centre at Thimblerow, off the old High Street, last year.
But there was anger at the lack of provision for leisure swimming in that £61m plan.
Council bosses have now added leisure water and indoor flumes to the mix, taking the cost to £74m.
The new proposal also includes a £13.2m investment in the public swimming baths in Crieff and Kinross.
And another £10m would be spent on turning Bell’s Sports Centre into an unheated multi-use venue and removing RAAC and asbestos from the building.
Protesters will urge council to reject plans
A protest is planned for outside the council chambers in Perth ahead of Wednesday’s full council meeting.
Critics have called for the new leisure centre to be built on the site of the existing Perth Leisure Pool.
Others want the council to reopen Bell’s as an indoor sports venue and keep Thimblerow as a car park.
But the council says building at Thimblerow will encourage families into Perth city centre, boosting shops and businesses there.
It would also allow the existing leisure pool to stay open until the new one is ready, as well as freeing up the land at Glover Street for a mix of housing.
Meanwhile, the council is in discussions with Scottish Curling which could see the sports body take over the running of the Dewars Centre next door to Perth Leisure Pool.
The Courier has been campaigning for an ambitious new leisure complex in Perth that caters for all sports, including leisure swimming and curling.
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