Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Chris McCall

Scots council could close 130 public buildings 'to avoid running out of money'

A Scots council could close more than 130 public buildings in a desperate bid to plug a £67 million hole in its budget.

Residents in Falkirk have been warned that dozens of community centres, sports complexes and concert halls will be shuttered in the coming years unless volunteer organisations agree to take them on.

Councillors have been told they must take "urgent steps to avoid running out of money"

The local authority also blamed environmental regulations for its plan to off-load properties - claiming many of them are "not energy efficient and would prevent the council from achieving its climate change targets".

It comes as all 32 councils across Scotland grapple with an estimated combined budget black hole of £1.2 billion.

Willie Rennie, Scottish Lib Dems communities spokesman, said: "This is an especially powerful statement as Falkirk has a SNP Council and an area represented by four SNP constituency MPs and MSPs, including a Cabinet Secretary in the SNP Government.

"It should send a sobering message to the SNP Government - if you don’t fund councils properly these facilities and services will be devastated."

Among the properties at risk of closure in the Falkirk Council area are Bo'ness Town Hall, the Dobbie Hall in Larbert, Grangemouth Town Hall, Polmonthill snowsports centre and Grangemouth Stadium.

Councillors have set aside £6m to help community organisations take on some of the properties.

"The council faces a £67 million budget gap over the next four years and must take urgent steps to avoid running out of money," a consultation page stated.

"Currently we own too many buildings that are ageing, in poor condition and require investment of around £200 million to avoid unexpected closures, money we simply do not have.

"Many of the buildings are also not energy efficient and keeping them would prevent the Council from achieving its climate change targets.

"If community transfer is not possible, the building will close, and the aim is to relocate these activities to other locations within the community."

Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of Falkirk Council, said: "The council is under severe financial pressure, with a £67m budget gap to be bridged over the next four years, 50% of which needs to come this year.

"This position means that we need to quickly address the fact we have too many poor-quality buildings.

"We will now go out and speak to the community about what help we can give them to take on some of these buildings and run them for their local areas."

City of Edinburgh Council has previously said it will need to cut £76.5million next year and £158.6million by 2027 unless more funds are found for front-line services.

Western Isles Council, which is facing a £5.6million black hole, said savings, cuts and council tax increases were “inevitable”.

Dumfries and Galloway face an estimated five-year funding gap of £50million, while Dundee is contending with a £45million deficit.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We recognise the crucial role councils and their employees play in our communities across Scotland and the challenging financial circumstances they face.

"The Scottish Government’s settlements from the UK Government have suffered a decade of austerity with average real terms cuts of over five per cent equating to a loss of £18 billion.

"Despite this, local authority revenue funding is £2.2 billion or 22.9 per cent higher in cash terms in the current financial year than it was in 2013-14."

To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.