COUNCILLORS in North Lanarkshire have approved plans to close 39 facilities across the local authority including the Sir Matt Busby Sports Complex in Bellshill.
The decision to close the sites is due to the local authority facing a £64 million budget gap over the next three years.
Labour council leader Jim Logue said this afternoon’s policy and strategy committee meeting faced an “unpalatable decision” and it was one that “no councillor would wish to take”.
The council leader blamed the straitened circumstances of local authorities following years of council tax freezes and dwindled central funding.
He admitted the facilities that will shut are "highly valued" by communities but said the council could no longer afford to fund them.
According to one person present at the policy and strategy committee, "I hope you lose your seat at the next election, you are absolutely disgraceful” could be heard from the public gallery towards the leader.
It is understood councillor Heather Brannan-McVey was the only Labour representative who voted against the plans, with the SNP group describing her as the "only one who took a principled stance and voted to represent her constituents and not her political group".
The group further added: "Today we saw the Labour and Tory administration vote to shut down 39 of North Lanarkshire’s Active and Creative Communities facilities with the help of an Independent councillor.
"As councillors, we all received hundreds of emails, phone calls, messages and have viewed your petitions. It is our duty to represent you, but today the above councillors chose not to listen to those who elected them."
Ahead of the meeting, local MPs and MSPs from all parties also said they received an influx of concerns from constituents about the loss of major facilities.
The SNP’s Neil Gray MSP and Anum Qaisar MP are campaigning for a stay of execution for centres in their Airdrie and Shotts constituency while Steven Bonnar MP in the neighbouring Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency has joined calls.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak: Safe drugs consumption space in Glasgow won't work
Gray and Qaisar called the plans “completely unacceptable” and said the two under-threat pools in their constituency are increasingly well used, adding: “We do not believe these cuts are necessary. They will leave people with poorer [physical] and mental health which will cost the council more in the long run.
“We have been working with SNP group leader Tracy Carragher to find a way for these Labour cuts to be stopped; North Lanarkshire should use the tens of millions due to them over the coming years from the Strathclyde Pension Fund surplus to embark on a programme of repair and upgrade to bring facilities up to standard.”
Bonnar says his constituency of Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill faces 11 closures and that he had written to council chief executive Des Murray and to all committee members asking that the closures be reconsidered.
He said: “Closures should not proceed without proper and detailed community consultation – the move to close these facilities with no prior engagement is deeply troubling and it’s time for elected members to do the right thing for the people we all serve.
"I have grave concerns about the impact these decisions would have on the communities we serve; these closures represent a significant loss for our community, affecting access to essential services, employment opportunities for staff [and] vital opportunities for social interaction and engagement."
Joint statement from @GrahamSMSP and I about the proposed closure of leisure and community facilities across North Lanarkshire. pic.twitter.com/Q81GVMeNhy
— Meghan Gallacher MSP (@MGallacherMSP) September 28, 2023
Tory MSPs for Central Scotland Meghan Gallacher and Graham Simpson released a joint statement stating their concern and support for the clubs affected.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel