Costs close Bell’s centre and King goes into red

BELL’S SPORTS CENTRE TO CLOSE

Bell’s Sports Centre will close following a unanimous vote by Perth and Kinross councillors.

Sports clubs had pleaded with councillors to save the facility and indoor bowling after Live Active Leisure (LAL) asked to pull out of the North Inch complex.

But the centre will shut on August 31, leaving jobs at risk.

The decision sees the gym, which was located at the facility, move to Dewars Centre, taking the place of the only indoor bowling carpet in the city.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday it was confirmed that neither Live Active Leisure nor councillors had managed to secure a future for indoor bowling before moving to shut down the centre.

Operational costs, flooding fears and a lack of insurance cover were also also factors in the decision.

NEW DETAILS OF DUNDEE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE REVEALED

New details of the proposed Dundee Christmas village have been revealed as the council invites operators to bid for a half-a-million pound contract.

Last month it was confirmed that Dundee City Council was looking to partner with a professional event management company to operate a festive village later this year.

The local authority has now kickstarted the procurement process, outlining the key requirements the village – which will operate from City Square seven days a week – must have.

This involves a real ice rink, a varied food and drink offering and a funfair, with a mix of traditional, family and thrill rides. Associated theming and dressing, Christmas decorations, light features, projections, background music and designed site signage are also included.

The contract, which is which is for 36 months, details that a minimum of 20% of market spaces must be allocated to local traders.

CULROSS GIVEN HALLOWEEN THEME FOR FILMING OF ALAN CARR SHOW

Culross has been given a Halloween make-over during filming for a forthcoming TV series starring comedian Alan Carr.

It was all part of filming for a new Netflix series called Peter, starring TV presenter Carr. The 47-year-old ‘Chatty Man’ had been spotted in the village as filming began.

And on Monday evening much of the activity was centred around the Mercat Cross area of the village.

Film crews, set designers and production staff had been hard at work in readiness for the final bout of filming of the show.

Dozens of pumpkins were stacked in a display around the Mercat Cross, along with skeletons and a coffin.

Meanwhile, much of Tanhouse Brae was decorated with strings of orange lanterns, stacks of pumpkins and other Halloween items.

RARE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT CHICKS HATCH FROM RESCUED EGGS

Rare black-tailed godwits have hatched from eggs rescued from fields where severe flooding is happening increasingly often.

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) said the birds have struggled to find suitable nest sites this year, and without human intervention their critically low numbers would fall further.

The chicks, which can walk and feed themselves just hours after hatching, will be looked after by WWT staff for up to a month until they are able to fly.

This will boost their chances of survival in the wild.

Each bird will be ringed and named, with a cohort released back into the wild near WWT Welney in Norfolk, at sites managed by WWT and the RSPB.

There are fewer than 50 pairs of British blacktailed godwits left in the wild, according to the WWT, and they rely on a handful of wetland sites to breed.

KING UNVEILS FIRST COMPLETED OFFICIAL PORTRAIT

The King has unveiled the first completed official portrait of himself since the coronation, which includes one detail Charles suggested should be added.

The portrait, by British artist Jonathan Yeo, was commissioned in 2020 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales’s 50 years as a member of The Drapers’ Company in 2022.

It was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at Buckingham Palace and depicts Charles wearing the uniform of the Welsh Guards, of which he was made Regimental Colonel in 1975.