Plans to close or transfer 130 properties out of the ownership of Falkirk Council have moved forward, despite councillors clashing over the plans.
The buildings at risk include community centres, sports facilities and public toilets right across the council area.
At a meeting of Falkirk Council today (Wednesday), the SNP insisted that their proposals mean buildings will only close as a last resort - and they are hopeful that many of the facilities under threat will either be taken over by community asset transfer or find alternative delivery models.
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The leader of the council, Cecil Meiklejohn, said that the plans for the strategic property review had begun as long ago as 2015 and it was time for Falkirk Council to finally take a decision.
After a lengthy debate councillors voted to push ahead with the plans.
The SNP members were supported by the Conservative group, although they also asked that some protection be given to several community halls that might be affected.
Councillors were considering a detailed report giving information about which buildings are most used and which need the most subsidy to run. They heard that there are now a total of 98 notes of interest in asset transfer across 52 buildings, although these were all at a very early stage.
The report restated once again that the council owns too many properties, in such a poor state of repair that even basic maintenance would cost £200 million.
There was no doubt that the proposals were contentious with emotive pleas on behalf of facilities including the Bo'ness Recreation Centre, Bonnybridge Community Centre and Polmonthill Snowsports Centre.
Contributions from the public included 16-year-old Bailey Ross, a pupil at Braes High School, who has been chosen to represent Scotland at skiing and is also an instructor at the centre.
He told councillors just how important the venue had been to him from a young age and how he now looked forward to helping other young people enjoy the sport.
He was joined by Iain Ramsay-Clapham from Snowsport Scotland who also attended the meeting to say that his organisation was keen to work with the centre to find ways to help it break even in a bid to keep it open.
The council leader, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said that the intention of the council's strategic property review had always been that any closures would be a final option and she welcomed the input from Snowsport Scotland.
The Labour group leader, Councillor Anne Hannah argued that the review was the "wrong way round" and said that the consultation and data gathering should have come forward first.
She said: "We need to make sure that we make these decisions based on all the information, based on all the data, and after we have looked at all the ways we can make facilities more successful, more financially viable and managed in a sustainable way."
The SNP members criticised Labour for making no mention of how their proposals would help the council balance its budget.
Conservative councillor James Bundy also said that there was no likelihood of the council's budget improving and he felt the Labour motion would lead to a lot of poor quality assets with no prospect of improvement.
He said the Conservative's were taking a "pragmatic approach" but said that even once community centres had looked at other solutions, it was not right that community centres should automatically close.
"This is a safety net for community groups," he said, saying it recognised that some community centres need every chance to survive.
Cllr Meiklejohn agreed that the Conservative proposal would give a bit of protection to community halls, particularly where it is an area's only facility.
The meeting heard concerns about how any transfers would work in practice.
Members of the management committee of Bonnybridge Community Centre attended to tell councillors how vital the centre is to the local community and how well used it is.
They also highlighted how big an ask the community asset transfer process is, telling councillors that they also run Roots Food Bank as well.
They were concerned to hear that while they feel unable to take an asset transfer forward, they have been told that several other people have expressed an interest.
Head of Invest Falkirk, Paul Kettrick, who is leading the property review admitted that the process of asset transfers would "have to be improved" substantially as it had taken too long in the past.
Housing manager Kenny Gillespie said that they were hearing "loud and clear" from communities that they need support when taking an asset transfer forward.
