Greens slam Letham hub funding cut

The Perth branch of the Scottish Green Party has called on funding for the Letham Centre to be reinstated by the council.

We reported last month that the local authority had slashed funding to the project to help pay for a new Perth High School.

But at their AGM last week, members of the Perth Greens slammed the move, passing a motion condemning Perth and Kinross Council “administrations past and present of all political hues for their generational failure towards the people of Letham and in particular for their lack of concern over the premature closure of the Letham Centre with the consequent withdrawal of facilities which has led to the partial withdrawal of funding for the new Letham Health and Wellbeing Centre.”

Spokesperson Elsepth Maclachlan said:“Concerns have long been expressed by the residents of Letham at the closure of the Letham Sports Centre a year ago.

“It has lain empty and unused while users were decanted into less suitable or more expensive lets. The last PKC administration failed to consult with the local population prior to the announcement of the centre’s closure and desperately needed housing has been used to house some of the displaced organisations.

“The cramped conditions were never going to be enough to replace all the facilities such as the Letham Hub, the Credit Union and the Stroke Club. The higher cost of the lets in Letham Primary School gym were only guaranteed until April 2019 when the new expanded Letham Health and Wellbeing Club was due to open. We are calling on the council to reverse the withdrawal of funding for the new Lethan Health and Wellbeing Centre to ensure that it can be completed on time to provide a much-needed facility for the local area.”