Politicians want to test water on pool funding
Call for‘urgent’solutions for PH20 project to be found
The Perth and Kinross Council SNP group wants plans for the PH20 project to be pushed forward quickly.
At the end of a marathon sevenand-a-half-hour virtual PKC meeting last week, the SNP tabled an amendment for funding options for the pool/ice rink project to be found “urgently.”
But Conservative leader Cllr Murray Lyle said there was “not a significant amount of difference” between the SNP’s amendment and the Conservatives’ original motion.
Both political groups asked council officers to identify commercial or other income streams and possible funding solutions to enable the project to be considered as part of the 2021/22 capital budget process early next year.
The SNP group raised concerns about flood damage caused to the Perth Leisure Pool and Dewars Centre during the August storm.
Live Active Leisure has since revealed flooding from the recent thunderstorms caused “way in excess of £500,000 of damage to Perth Leisure Pool and some areas of Bell’s Sports Centre.”
The SNP group asked for funding options for the major project to be sought “urgently.”
Seconding SNP councillor
Grant Laing’s amendment, SNP Perth City Centre councillor Andrew Parrott said Cllr Lyle’s motion had gone beyond what was stated in the council officers’ recommendations.
But he added: “I still think our amendment gives this project the urgency and - dare I say - pace that it requires.”
Tensions were fraught and, during heated exchanges, Conservative depute provost Kathleen Baird had to ask councillors to “be nice”.
A row broke out when Perth City South SNP councillor Sheila McCole asked to speak but then asked to wait when she saw Lib Dem councillor Peter Barrett also wanted to speak.
Cllr McCole said she wanted to hear what other groups were planning to do with the amendment.
Told by the head of legal, councillors should move to the vote if no one commented when invited, Cllr McCole said she would be happy to make her comment now “if that was the case.”
Cllr Barrett responded: “And I’ll happily comment after Cllr McCole which is the order in which we put forward our requests to comment. We don’t get to pick and choose when we speak.”
There was a brief pause followed by Cllr Baird asking councillors to “be nice.”
Cllr McCole said: “I was rather disappointed by Cllr Barrett’s’ puerile behaviour in this instance.”
She then went on to say she felt the project was important for the health and wellbeing of the people of Perth and Kinross.
Cllr Barrett argued the SNP amendment was “amendment for amendment’s sake” and was “in stark contrast with their lack of grip and drive with PH20 when they were in administration.”
The Conservatives’ motion was passed by 20 votes to 17.