Kilbowie saved from closure

KILBOWIE Outdoor Centre in Oban has been saved in North Lanarkshire Council's budget.

The 25-year-old centre on Gallanach Road, which employs 16 people, is owned and run by North Lanarkshire Council and offers the region’s primary seven schoolchildren a low-cost, five-day ‘education and residential experience’ including sailing, hill-walking, canoeing, skiing, mountain biking, gorge walking, abseiling and tree climbing.

Campaigners fighting to save the centre, which was earmarked for closure to help plug a £9 million black hole in the council’s budget, expressed relief at the decision.

‘Great news,’ said one parent. ‘We need places like Kilbowie.’

‘My eldest son was there last week and had an absolute ball,’ wrote a supporter: ‘It would be a shame if my younger son and other kids didn’t get to share the same experience.’

Another parent added: ‘Fantastic news. This is such a valuable resource for all our kids to gain lifelong memories and experiences to help them become confident young people in the future.’

‘Outdoor education should be a child’s right,’ thought another, while one reflected: ‘They use us like pawns in their political games.’

Councillor Tom Fisher, the council’s convener of finance, told the budget meeting: ‘This has not been an easy process and we have faced significant challenges in getting to a balanced budget.

‘During our recent consultation, people told us they didn’t want to see cuts to facilities in their communities.

‘People told us in their thousands that the experience for pupils delivered at Kilbowie Outdoor Centre was essential. We have maintained that.’

However one resident on the campaigners’ Facebook page questioned the councillors’ decision: ‘The problem is that something has to give to accommodate Kilbowie being kept open.

‘Priorities. Obviously noone wants it to shut and the experience for the children is valuable.

‘But if you see the budget for the schools to run on it’s quite shocking.

‘No resources. I know I’d rather see the money go on the nuts and bolts of the education system.’