South Ayrshire Labour’s leader wants a final ‘decisive’ consultation on the controversial Ayr leisure centre.
One of new Conservative council leader Martin Dowey’s first moves on securing the administration last week was to reiterate his promise to scrap the project – citing the spiralling costs.
However, a decision has yet to be taken on exactly how it will be formally scrapped. Cllr Dowey said that the council had only approved a £45m project and that he would not borrow more to meet rising costs.
But Labour group leader Councillor McGinley said that he believed that other costs should be taken into account, including the provision of facilities when refurbishing the Citadel Leisure Centre, the potential costs of dealing with asbestos and the difficulty in making the centre carbon neutral.
He said: “The cost of refurbishment will also go up. It is not only inflation.
“I am talking about dealing with the asbestos they may find, finding that the shape and size of the building will make it extremely costly to make carbon neutral, which is a requirement.
“People know a £40m investment in Ayr town centre will be fantastic for the people of South Ayrshire.”
He also claimed that the Conservative plans to spread the money allocated to the leisure centre would dilute the cost benefits.
Cllr McGinley continued: “I think announcing the cancellation of the leisure centre is a bit premature. I don’t think it is the right thing to do, but I understand why it has been done.”
He also criticized some of the objectors, claiming that for some it is a class issue.
“There is a small group of ‘chattering classes’ who want to hold South Ayrshire to ransom,” he said. ”They don’t want to see social housing down at the Citadel."
A lot of the criticism of the leisure centre stemmed from previous consultations held by the council, with claims that it was skewed in favour of the plan, was vague and unrepresentative.
While there had been no attempt by the last administration to seek the views of the public on the finalised plans – other than specific planning issues – Cllr McGinley said that another consultation was vital.
He said: “At the very least we need another consultation, to get the facts out. That’s what Labour will be pushing for. ”
“If the people don’t want that, then that is up to them.
“But let them have the chance before it is mothballed. I’m convinced there is a silent majority for this centre.
“Why would you be afraid of that if you were confident in what you are doing.
“Make it encompassing, open and fair and unequivocal. Do you want this investment or not?”
He added that it was the Conservative and Labour administration elected in 2012 which had highlighted the ‘unsustainable’ costs of the Citadel.
“We were spending an awful lot of money, continuous money and that couldn’t continue. We took expert advice and they said it is no longer suitable for a modern facility.
Council leader Dowey acknowledged that a consultation was one of the ways the administration could formally consider the future of the project.
He said: “There are a number of ways that we are looking at in terms of cancelling the leisure centre project. One of those is a consultation. However, there are others that we are discussing.”
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