Changes to the management of south west Fife halls and centres needs to be looked at on a wider basis, according to a local councillor.
Fife Council is looking at the future of many halls around the kingdom, with some mooted as having potential to be run by the community.
SNP councillor Alice McGarry said her concerned stemmed from a village or town only having a single community facility which may go out of the council’s control.
Meanwhile, Labour councillor Mike Shirkie was worried the six-week consultation process was too ambitious, but was offered assurances that could be flexible, and offered the council the chance to start engaging with communities.
Fife Council depute leader Lesley Laird said the issue had been a challenging one.
With changes in local government over the years, Fife Council now had a large estate.
“I think this is really a long overdue exercise. We are trying to understand what is on our books and how do we use them.
“We want people to be able to use facilities in a way where they can access services and get in touch with the council in a way which best suits them.
“Some of our assets are very well used and some assets could be better used and some are not well used,
“The best way to go forward is with our communities.
“We are talking about bricks and mortar but really the thing to ask is ‘what makes it work?’.
“And if it takes more than six weeks to do that fine – we need to get it right rather than doing it to a timetable.”
Mrs Laird said south west Fife had a difficult geography.
“It is complex and we need to ensure we give ourselves reasonable time and effort for the communities who will be left with the facilities there and they want to see them work in the future.
“It is about what goes on in buildings and how people are going to use them and how to get them involved in shaping that.”
SNP councillor Sharon Wilson urged the council to ensure community groups had as much information as possible, to give an understanding of what might be involved in taking over a hall.
And Mrs McGarry was also concerned over safeguards to ensure the smooth running of any centres handed over in the future.
“There have been some which started off as good facilities and over the years they are not quite as robust as they used to be.
“There have to be clauses so we can intervene when there is a stultifying influence.”
Area committee chairman Bobby Clelland said: “We’ll continue to have discussions with local community groups.
“We need to identify the best way to manage the facilities identified as being in scope for change, while retaining access by all interested groups.
“It’s essential that Fife Council reduces its annual running costs and these changes have the potential to save us at least £60,000 in south west Fife area alone.”
