Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Bell’s future down to vote
CONTROVERSIAL plans to close Bell’s Sports Centre and end indoor bowling in Perth will cost a cool £1 million.
Perth and Kinross Council is asking elected members to approve a proposal to shut the North Inch facility from August 31.
The highly disputed plan will see gym equipment moved from the flood-damaged Bell’s to the Dewars Centre where it will replace the only indoor bowling arena in the city.
The proposal has left the bowling community outraged with older players and players with disabilities saying the move will leave them without a sporting or social interaction.
Earlier this year, the vice-chairman of Live Active Leisure (LAL), which runs the council’s leisure facilities, resigned from the organisation over the treatment of the bowling club.
The move could also spell the end of the UK’S biggest volleyball tournament which has been held at the North Inch for almost 40 years.
The report by David Littlejohn, strategic lead for economy, development and planning at Perth and Kinross Council, estimates the move will cost LAL around £900,000.
He wrote: “On February 8 following consideration of the independent options appraisal on reinstatement of Bell’s, the LAL board approved a decision in principle not to re-instate and to relocate Bell’s services to Dewars Centre.
“The total cost is estimated at £900,000, including purchase of new gym equipment and modifications to Dewars, to be met from LAL’S general reserves.”
The plan leaves the future of other court-based sports in limbo with the suggestion they would be relocated to other local venues “where possible”.
In a further headache for the council, Bell’s Sports Centre was given listed status by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) last month, meaning the dome structure at the centre of the facility will need to be preserved.
A fully reinstated Bell’s could cost £2m – including £600,000 to address RAAC structural issues.
Dave Munro, director of the Scottish Open Volleyball Tournament, urged councillors to reject the report when it comes before them on May 15.
His two-day competition will attract more than 1,000 visitors – including 142 teams – to the city later this month.
“We should recognise the vision of those who decided to build the sports centre in its current location and we should not lightly give up that vision,” he said.
“The Inch will still be there to be appreciated but its focal point and possibly the beating heart of all indoor local sports will have gone unless we act now.”
The sports centre was flooded in October after the city floodgates remained open during storms.
The report comes as the council look to consolidate Bell’s, Dewars and Perth Leisure Pool into one new facility.
A proposal which did not feature curling, leisure swimming or bowling was rejected by councillors in January.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said financial pressures and player numbers were behind the overall leisure centre plans.