Leisure facilities need work

Essential maintenance work to council leisure facilities should resume to prevent them being closed for long once lockdown ends.

That’s the call from Councillor, Robert Brown, who fears that the refusal to allow maintenance of public amenities like golf courses and football fields threatens to result in permanent damage.

The Liberal Democrat Group’s leader says that would not only deny people access to local resources needed for health and wellbeing, it could also endanger their future and the jobs of those who work at them.

“Opposition parties are giving genuine support to both the Scottish and British governments because we know they face difficult decisions to balance different risks,” said Councillor Brown.

“We want them to succeed, but we have a duty to raise issues and speak up when they fail to address them. The lockdown has been vital to bring down the spread of Covid-19. However we all know it also harms people’s health and it threatens the survival of things we absolutely need when normal life resumes.

“It is time to make sensible changes that will support people’s health and wellbeing and look after public assets. To my mind, it makes total sense to return to maintaining council leisure facilities like football parks and golf courses.

“It is also time to consider allowing outdoor leisure facilities like tennis courts and bowling greens to re-open - providing that sensible social distancing arrangements are in place, both for staff maintaining facilities and for club members.”