Council ‘missing out’ on income as leisure centre stands empty

Angus council chiefs are missing out on potentially thousands of pounds of rental income by letting the old leisure centre building in Brechin stand empty, it has been claimed.

Community leaders have accused officials of dragging their heels on securing a new tenant for the River Street building after a community asset transfer request failed last year.

The building has an estimated rental income of £30,000 per year and the council originally used it to store furniture after it became surplus to requirements when a multi-million-pound community campus opened in 2016.

A spokesman for the local authority said officials had been marketing the building prior to the Covid-19 outbreak but when asked, did not point towards any materials such as a signage on the property or a website listing.

SNP councillor Kenny Braes said: “People in Brechin are wondering why it can’t be put to better use and I find it difficult to give them an answer.

“It gets a bit embarrassing telling people that the council has a very tight budget to work to and can’t do all the things it would like to do when it’s foregoing that sort of income,” he said.

“And it’s not just the potential income that’s being lost. The council also has to spend money heating and maintaining the building.”

He said he had repeatedly failed to get an answer when asking after the future of the building.

“If they have been marketing it then they have been doing so in a very secretive fashion,” he said.

Jill Scott, chairwoman of the City of Brechin and District Community Council, said she was aware of potential tenants who had found alternative premises due to the ongoing delays.

Councillors rejected a Community Asset Transfer request by the Inch Maintenance and Preservation Society (IMPS) in September last year after raising concerns about the long-term viability of a plan for the building.