The consultancy firm that recommended the closure of Bell’s Sports Centre and worked on Thimblerow leisure centre plans was paid nearly £45k by the local authority and leisure bosses.
Perth and Kinross Council hired Integratis Consulting in August 2023 to conduct a review of the local authority’s leisure assets.
In the nine months between August 2023 and May 2024, the council made five payments to the firm totalling £30,744.
The Glasgow-based company was paid an additional £13,900 by Live Active Leisure (LAL) from January 2022.
The culmination of these reports has led to the much-maligned plans to build a new leisure centre at Thimblerow without a dedicated leisure pool or ice rink facilities.
Leisure cuts and contested figures
The reports by Integratis led council officers in January to recommend a watered-down version of PH2O be built at Glover Street without leisure water or curling provision.
The plan was rejected by councillors, though other parts of the wider report regarding the leisure provision across the local authority were accepted.
The company compiled three further documents for the Thimblerow proposal, including a draft timetable which cuts children’s swimming time by 30 hours a week.
They also detailed curling usage figures which have been contested by the curlers themselves but which the council argue is based on LAL figures.
The Courier was only given the £30,744 figure through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on appeal.
The local authority originally rejected the FOI claiming it would impact the commercial interests of both Integratis and the council.
Bell’s and Blairgowrie Recreation Centre
LAL paid Integratis for two reports in 2022 into the new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre which is currently five years overdue, running millions over budget and still awaiting its opening date.
They also compiled a highly contentious report into Bell’s Sports Centre in January 2024 where they recommended the full closure of the facility after it was damaged by flooding.
However, as part of their presentation, the Glasgow-based firm did advise carrying out a public consultation.
LAL failed to do this before the decision was made to close the centre, later telling The Courier the results would have been meaningless as they had already made up their minds.
A petition by indoor sports groups to reopen Bell’s to its former state has now gathered more than 2,700 signatures in under two weeks.
It’s one of a number of setbacks for the hugely unpopular Thimblerow proposal which will go back before councillors on Wednesday.
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