The year has barely started and, already, the potential closure of Perth’s three biggest sports centres is shaping up to be one of the most contentious local issues in a long time.
So how did we get here and what happens next?
The fate of the Dewars Centre ice rink, Bell’s Sports Centre and Perth Leisure Pool has looked shaky since last year.
The Courier revealed on November 30 that Perth’s three loss-making sports centres could be axed and replaced with a single venue.
The current recommendation – that all three close to make way for a slimmed down version of the mothballed PH2O sports project – is contained in the papers for next Monday’s meeting of the full Perth and Kinross Council.
They are available to everyone to read on the council website.
And as The Courier revealed on Monday, the suggestion is that the new centre proceeds WITHOUT an ice rink, leisure pool or indoor bowling.
The reduced PH2O offering would feature:
• A 25m, 8 lane traditional swimming pool including moveable floor.
• Teaching pool
• Fitness gym
• Studios (group, multi-purpose space)
• Sports hall
• Family play activity
The meeting begins at 1pm on Monday in the Perth and Kinross Council chamber. Members of the public can also watch it online.
But the backlash to the proposal has been swift and intense.
And there are calls for councillors to defer a decision on Monday to allow time for a more palatable solution to be found.
What now for ‘Perth – home of curling’?
Perth-born curling legend Eve Muirhead is the biggest name to speak out against the plans so far.
The Dewars centre was the home rink for her Olympic gold-medal winning team.
Another former Team GB Olympian, Peter Loudon, says he and the head of Scottish Curling Vincent Bryson are hoping to address councillors when they meet on Monday.
“Perth is regarded internationally as the home of curling. It is to curling what St Andrews is to golf,” he said.
The issue will be the talk of the Dewars Centre when the venue hosts a European junior curling championship this weekend.
Rona Banks, whose family-run business Banks of Perth has specialised in curling gear since the 1950s, says visiting athletes pour money into local shops, hotels and restaurants.
“The loss of the Dewars Centre would be a huge blow for us,” she said.
“It’s difficult enough as it is trying to get by in retail in Perth without them putting up more hurdles.”
Hundreds sign leisure pool petition
Curling may have grabbed the headlines but the loss of the leisure pool could potentially impact many more local families.
There were 314,246 swimming sessions booked there in 2023/24 and another 80,297 swimming lessons.
That compares with 10,977 curling sessions, 5,786 for ice skating and 5,579 for indoor bowling.
Perth dad David Thomson has started a petition to save the leisure pool and it has been signed by hundreds already.
David says he and his three primary school aged children use the venue at least twice a week and it’s never less than “heaving”.
And his oldest son is a regular at the Saturday night “swimmy disco” – a rite of passage for Perth youngsters.
“They’re queued round the block every week,” said David.
Councillor Alasdair Bailey says he and Labour colleagues will be fighting for the retention of a leisure pool on Monday.
“We have to recognise, as a council, that last year 28 people used the swimming facilities in Perth for every one person that participated in curling,” he said.
“We need to ensure that the proposed loss of the leisure water does not go unnoticed and happen without debate. Leisure water visits are 4.5 times those of other swim sessions.”
Will councillors heed public anger?
Councillors could vote in favour of the recommendations in head of culture and communities services Fiona Robertson’s report on Monday.
They could also reject it, vote for it with amendments, or defer a decision.
Reader reaction suggests going along with the plan is unlikely to win them many popularity contests.
Many have drawn unfavourable comparisons with the £27 million spent on the new Perth Museum, which is due to open in the refurbished City Hall at Easter.
Others have hit out at the £2M bill to repair damage at Bell’s Sports Centre after the North Inch floodgates were left open last October.
One wrote: “That’s my 80 year old father’s days of spending an afternoon in the swimming pool on a cold day coming to an end. Sad, just sad.
“He’ll be thrilled though, that he can instead take a daily visit to a big lump of rock in the new £27m white elephant museum.”
Another said: “The leisure centre and especially the leisure pool is one of my main highlights when visiting Perth.
“I know they’re making a loss but what about the visitor and tourism loss this will cause? To me that will be even more detrimental.”
Single site should focus on most widely used activities
Bell’s Sports Centre, the Dewar’s Centre and Perth Leisure Pool are all managed by Live Active Leisure (LAL).
Perth and Kinross Council gives it an annual contract fee of almost £4m – £2.7m of which goes on the three venues.
In her report to the committee, Ms Robertson writes: “Usage and market analysis carried out for this review suggests a single site facility should focus on the key leisure activities most widely used by the local population and where usage trends indicate at least steady state, if not growth.
“This also suggests leisure water, ice and indoor bowling are removed from the current approved accommodation schedule for PH20, helping to address affordability and longer-term financial sustainability risks.”
Conversation