A PUBLIC protest is going ahead despite Labour council bosses U-turning on a plan to close 39 sports and leisure centres in North Lanarkshire.
North Lanarkshire Council found itself the subject of intense anger from the public, opposition politicians – and even from within Scottish Labour – after the cuts were announced last week.
But on Tuesday, council leader Jim Logue announced the plans were being rescinded.
He said the “important facilities” would be protected for the duration of the council term and blamed the Scottish Government for the cuts and for under-funding councils.
The SNP group, meanwhile, have submitted a motion of no confidence against Logue.
A public demonstration was planned for this Thursday afternoon outside North Lanarkshire’s Civic Centre headquarters just as council members arrive for the latest quarterly full council assembly.
The protest organiser has now told The National that it will still go ahead.
James Cassidy, who is also a member of Trade Unionists for Independence, said the community need to “remind the council who they work for”.
He added: “The U-turn clearly shows it was a political decision, a strategy decision rather than an actual necessity. It was a choice that councillors made and I was really angry about that because these are people that we trust with the community. They look after our community on our behalf, and they just didn't do that. They really let themselves down.
“The council have been running down these facilities for years. And when you look at the reports that they commissioned to justify some of the closures, they're claiming low footfall for some of them. But they've created that scenario by closing centres and reducing hours. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“We need to remind them that we're watching. What we don't want to see is them now picking them off one by one when nobody's looking. We've got their attention now and we really need to drive home that these facilities can't be closed.
“We wouldn't like people to get an idea that the job's done and we can sit back and relax. We still need that visible presence, to remind the councillors who they work for, and who they represent. When they make these decisions, it's not just numbers on a page. These are actual communities, some of which have been stripped bare already.
“We’ll be there on Thursday and hopefully getting across a message to the councillors that they will bear in mind.”
