Plans for an all-weather sports facility in Dumbarton West have been saved by councillors after chiefs said it should be scrapped.
At a full meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council last week, members were asked to axe proposals for a new changing facility at the former OLSP in Castlehill.
However councillors unanimously backed an amendment that saw the project given a reprieve, with Labour councillor David McBride saying it was a long-term commitment to the people of Dumbarton West following the relocation of Our Lady and St Patrick’s High to Bellsmyre.
Long-awaited plans for a new community hall in West Bridgend have also been given a lifeline - albeit subject to Regeneration Capital Grant Funding (RCGF) being received in September.
The old West Bridgend Community Hall was demolished in 2017, with plans drawn up for a new facility.
However it has been beset by delays, with council officers recommending that the plans were scrapped to help save an estimated £2.2million by 2030/31.
There was cross-party support for putting any decision to terminate the project on ice however, with Councillor McBride saying: “The new sports facility at the former OLSP High School was a commitment to the Dumbarton West community when Our Lady and St Patrick’s was relocated.
“Dumbarton West is a community that has lost facilities, particularly since OLSP’s relocation and it deserves this commitment being delivered by the council.
“In the case of West Bridgend it’s a long-term commitment, and one I’m extremely disappointed hasn’t progressed.
“I fully understand that there is no guarantee that this project will go ahead given the perilous state of our finances currently.
“However there is an application outstanding to the RCGF and this will be known in September 2023.”
Whilst the two Dumbarton projects have been saved, WDC’s Labour administration moved ahead with other cost-cutting measures as they attempted to close a £21m budget black hole.
This includes the cancellation of bridge remediation works; a move that concerned Leven SNP councillor Ian Dickson.
He asked: “Is the administration comfortable in removing plans for a protective overcoating on the four bridges over the River Leven?
“The Renton Bridge is not complete.
“Due to how long it was left it required far more substantial repairs than a protective overcoat.
“As a result the stairs and the deck were replaced completely. With some irony the protective overcoating didn’t actually take place.
“Half the bridge is brand new. Half is untouched and rusting away.
“This should serve as a warning for the potential for costs to get out of hand on the remaining bridges if the overcoating is further postponed.
“Not keeping up with basic preventative maintenance will result in the loss of these assets.
“In my ward alone we’ve already lost the Black Bridge that lost Bonhill, Renton and Alexandria for pedestrians.
In response, Labour’s David McBride said: “We’re as comfortable as we are with any of the cuts being made.
“All these decisions are extremely difficult ones.
“On the basis of the budget gap that we currently have, it’s a decision we reluctantly have to make.
“I wouldn’t use the word comfortable.
“Reluctantly we accept this recommendation.”
In October, the council also approved the building of almost 70 new homes at the former Dumbarton school site.
Persimmon Homes will build 68 new houses which will be made up of 15 two-bedroom and 53 three-bedroom homes in the neighbourhood after being given the green light.
