The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Families group in new bid for Sunday swimming
A new and final bid has been made by families to swim on Sundays on the Sabbatarian stronghold of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Campaigners two years ago raised enough money to open Lewis’s public swimming pool and sports centre for a trial period on Sundays – only to be refused by the Western Isles Council (CNES).
The local authority said its decision not to open the site was for “operational reasons” and not a religious one.
Council-run leisure centres on Lewis and Harris are closed, although similar sites elsewhere in the Western Isles are open on Sundays.
Now Families into Sport for Health (FiSH) – which wants Sunday access to the Ionad Spors Leodhais (ISL) sports centre on a six-month trial basis – has again offered more than £11,400 it has raised to fund the pilot.
In its letter to council chief executive Malcolm Burr, they say: “FiSH would once again like to hand over these funds to the council for a trial, in a similar manner as the Western Isles Swim Club provided partial funds for an early morning hours trial at ISL.
“At this time, we have found no barriers that could not be overcome in similar ways to how
“We have found no barriers that could not be overcome”
barriers for opening Sundays were overcome in other parts of the Western Isles (including emergency procedures, facility operations and staffing).
“As part of the successful participation request, FiSH has taken part in the discussions and the consultation process for the Outer Hebrides Community Activity Strategy which utilised statistics and surveys that revealed demand for indoor sports facilities to be open on Sundays.”
FiSH said the Western Isles has some of the lowest rates of participation in sport and exercise and some of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Scotland as well as high overall body mass index rates.
A spokesman for the council said: “There has been no change of policy in the council’s position.
“The original decision was not based on finance alone but also on operational reasons.”