Dundee City Council facing legal challenge over Kirkton Community Centre closure

The centre, which has served the Kirkton community for over 50 years, will be shut by the end of the year.

By Laura Devlin

January 19 2024, 3:19pm

Kirkton Community Centre and Library. Image: Kris Miller/DC Thomson.

Dundee City Council is facing a legal challenge following their decision to close the Kirkton Community Centre.

Councillors agreed to shut the longstanding community centre last year and the building is expected to close its doors by the end of 2024.

St Pauls Academy and Baldragon Academy will subsequently be opened to the public for use as community facilities as part of a new “community hub” model.

It is expected to bring a £100,000 boost to the Kirkton area through a new fund set up to expand access and activities for the community.

But a legal challenge has now been raised against the closure by the Govan Law Centre (GLC), a non-for-profit legal practice based in Glasgow.

Claims closure is discriminatory

The GLC say they are acting on behalf of two clients who claim Dundee City Council failed to carry out a formative consultation to gauge what impact the closure would have on local people with disabilities.

It’s also claimed the decision to close Kirkton Community Centre discriminated against the petitioners as disabled service users and was unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act.

The closure of Kirkton Community Centre has proved to be a contentious issue since it was first mooted in 2021.

A community hub would be created at St Pauls Academy. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson.

The body running the centre – the Kirkton Local Management Group (KLMG) – initially launched a petition opposing the communty hub model when it was first unveiled.

And although their stance eventually softened, they have since raised concerns the timeline for the proposed closure is too soon.

They also believe some services offered by the centre are better suited outside of St Pauls and Baldragon and called for a new fit for purpose facility.

KLMG declined to comment on the legal challenge.

A spokesperson for GLC said: “Govan Law Centre has a public interest strategic litigation unit that can take on a limited number of cases across Scotland that may benefit local communities.

“We successfully pursued cases that resulted in the forthcoming reopening of Bucksburn Swimming Pool in Aberdeen and have a number of cases involving swimming pools and public library closures in East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire.”

A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on any legal matters.”