Angry members of the public have challenged West Lothian Leisure over why more has not been done to prevent the planned closure of four local venues.
The trust is seeking permission from the council to close three pools and the Howden Park Centre, in a bid to plug an “enormous” budget gap.
Around 150 people turned out at St Margaret’s Academy in Livingston on Wednesday, to hear the council explain the budget shortfall and the Trust justify its closure plans.
It was the first time the public had been able to question the leisure trust management directly about its reasons for the pool closure proposals.
And they challenged the trust on why more had not been done to cut costs earlier, and hit out at suggested alternatives for the closed venues..
Many more were critical that the WLL Chief Executive Ben Lamb refused to reveal specific details of losses at the four venues because of commercial confidentiality.
And an Xcite staff member complained that the Trust remained top heavy with managers.
On the platform, Alan Colquhoun, Sports and Culture Manager for the council, and Mr Lamb both outlined the financial problems facing the council and he Trust.
Pointing to the “enormous” £2.95m budget gap the trust faces in the next five years Mr Lamb told the crowd: “We are not immune to economic pressures.”
“We are left with very little choice. We have to tailor the services we provide accordingly. We get paid less money unfortunately we have to provide less of a service The pressure that we face has led to the proposals for these facilities to close. We have to do that to protect the future of the services that we provide.”
Mr Lamb’s assertion that customers could use other facilities such as Winchburgh pool if Broxburn closes was met with derision from the crowd and directly challenged by some of the questions from the floor.
There were questions as to why the pools faced such high running costs and why options to cut costs and improve income such as reduction in water temperatures and raised prices had not been considered before the closure plans were arrived at.
The Trust chief said WLL had responded to the many proposals that it had heard since the plans were announced; and many measures had already been tried long before the Trust found itself facing closure decisions.
Several people challenged the council’s consultation process late last year which formed the basis of the decision to move the leisure trust towards fully self funded status in five years. It was pointed out that the responses amounted to only 4% of the population.
Livingston SNP Councillor Andrew Miller criticised the Labour administration for not being on the platform to justify the decisions it faces later this month.
Councillor Miller said: “The question was put out to the public about West Lothian Leisure being self-funded. It did not have any consequence at all. When the decision was put to council there was no consequences given as a result of such a cut.
“Councillors took the decision to cut West Lothian Leisure’s budget, councillors will be the ones to decide if these buildings are closed, and it is councillors who could allocate the money required to keep the facilities open.
“It is therefore disappointing that not one senior politician was brave enough to take the stage and answer questions from concerned members of the public. Only two members of the council’s Labour administration even bothered to attend. Thanks to those councillors who have attended and shame on those who haven’t”.
Of the Labour group only council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick and Broxburn councillor Tony Boyle were at the meeting, as were Independent Stuart Borrowman and Councillor Miller’s colleagues, the group leader Broxburn’s Janet Campbell and Livingston’s Maria MacAulay and Moira McKee Shemilt. Linlithgow Lib Dem Sally Pattle was also there.
Addressing Mr Lamb, Yvonne, a staff member from Xcite Livingston said: “Two years ago you said it was going to be tough times and there needed to be solutions. All you seem to have done is cut from the bottom and not from the top. You have more area managers, it is very top heavy and very thin on the ground. Why has it not been addressed in two years?
“You’re cutting sites and not cutting the big boys at the top,” she added, to a round of applause.
Mr Lamb said four directors had retired as well as office staff. He said the trust was a “ lean and efficient organisation” and every effort was made “ to make sure we are not carrying additional management and office resource where it was not needed.”
Questions were also asked why the pools had been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that all the buildings need substantial capital investment. Both Mr Colqhoun and Mr Lamb pointed to annually funded management costs to maintain the buildings.
One questioner asked why a more active promotion of membership and sales was not obvious at the Trust sites or why membership fees had not been raised in line with facilities in neighbouring councils.
Donald Stavert. Treasurer of Bathgate community council asked if alternatives to the Trust’s management of the facilities had been considered to the Trust and if the council would hold a full on-line consultation before the decision was taken to close the pools.
“You’ll get a different result from your budget consultation,” he added.
After the meeting writing on social media Councillor Stuart Borrowman said: “It was generally, a well-tempered meeting but I feel the council must publish the data and allow everyone to see the scale of the challenges and - perhaps - where different opportunities may lie outside the current model which seems to have run out of road.”
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