John Alexander has been accused of trying to hide the real reasons for Olympia Dundee’s long-term closure.
The council leader on Monday sought to draw a line under the saga, however, Labour MSP Michael Marra says there are still far too many unanswered questions.
Chief among these, he says, are why the pools were allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that they will be closed for at least two years.
Dundee residents ‘have no clue’ why Olympia is closed
The politician, who was formerly a Dundee councillor, said: “Dundee people continuously complain to me about the absence of swimming provision for them and their families and none of them have a clue as to why the disaster with Olympia was allowed to happen.
“For the SNP’s council leader to claim that answers have been provided is just nonsense. It is now clear that an independent inquiry is the only way taxpayers will get their answers and that such an unholy mess can be prevented from happening again.”
Mr Alexander has stressed all the information available on what went wrong has been released publicly and made clear he believes there are “no skeletons in the closet”.
But the closure will cost Dundee taxpayers more than £6 million in repairs — less than that needed to fix a council roofing blunder that was subject to an independent audit.
The centre is currently being repaired and is due to reopen in October 2023, leaving those living in Dundee and the surrounding area with no major public leisure facility.
‘What on Earth does that mean?
Mr Marra said: “What the leader of the council had to say on this issue of great public concern made little, if any, sense at all.
“I struggled to follow a word of it. Apparently there has been ‘a degree of a kind of independent overview’ of the scale of the problems. What on Earth does that mean?
“We know there has been no inquiry or we would now have answers to the many questions the public are asking.
“What we do know from released documents is that problems were identified with key fittings as far back as 2016. Inspections were meant to be carried out but we know that they never happened.”
The Scottish Parliament member also raised concerns that Mr Alexander’s fellow SNP councillor, Will Dawson, tried to get problems fixed years ago while in charge of a health and safety committee at Olympia’s operators Leisure & Culture Dundee.
He said: “What we do not know – and the council seems determined not to tell us – is the details of the decision not to maintain Olympia. Who, where, why? This was a series of catastrophic mistakes. “
John Alexander responds to criticism
Mr Alexander meanwhile claimed his political rival has a “track record of having a loose understanding of reality and facts.”
He said Labour is seeking to “politicise” an issue which they know “we have all sought answers on and worked to fix, across the political spectrum.”
He said: “We have an independent audit process which is, as the name suggests, is independent. But they already know this…
“What we know is that there were issues from the beginning of the process.
“They’ve openly criticised the site selection, and it was Labour that was in charge of the council at the time of the selection.
“They’ve openly criticised the process for delivery of the Olympia, despite being in charge of the council and their Convener of Leisure, Arts and Communities overseeing the project.
“They’ve had board members on the Leisure & Culture Board for the entire time, despite never mentioning it.
“They’ve derided scrutiny, despite having the chairmanship of the council’s scrutiny Committee.
“In the council’s last budget, it wasn’t the SNP proposing cuts to maintenance budgets, it was Labour. I’m sure irony won’t be lost on anyone.”
Leader ‘deeply unhappy’ about situation
Mr Alexander added they need to “stop whitewashing reality” and work on “getting things done.”
He said: “What I have said is clear. I am deeply unhappy about the situation, as a taxpayer and as leader, but I want us to get the Olympia open and sort out the issues identified so, that it never occurs again.
“What the public have made very clear is they want their Olympia sorted and open and that’s what I’m focussing on doing. Maybe Mr Marra should do the same.”
