Angus Council’s culture and leisure spokesman has ruled out handing over control of the county’s leisure facilities to a trust in the immediate future after a heating crisis at a popular sports centre.
Lochside Leisure Centre in Forfar has been without heating for several weeks and the local authority has admitted the system cannot be repaired until parts are delivered in late January.
Customers have reported that some instructors are refusing to take fitness classes in the conditions, despite moves by the council to install temporary heaters. Some staff are also said to be wearing outdoor clothing during their shifts.
It comes just weeks after The Courier reported that not a single council-funded sports facility made a profit over the last three years, with combined losses totalling over £2.5 million in the last financial year.
However, Arbroath East and Lunan representative Jim Millar says the problem does not indicate the council needs to transfer responsibility for the 12 facilities over to an external body, as is the already the case in many of Scotland’s other local authority areas.
He said, “Some people think that an arms-length management trust would be the best way forward, but in reality I’m not convinced. I don’t think this is as effective and efficient as people make out, as the only thing I think we would save on would be rates.”
Mr Millar also argued that, while the facilities appeared to be losing money, they were never intended as “profit-making organisations” designed to compete with private-sector rivals.
“Leisure facilities are provided to assist Angus people in maintaining healthy lifestyles with all the many benefits that brings to individuals, and the community as a whole,” he said.
“Leisure facilities are not run as profit-making organisations, and in common with most other authorities, are subsidised by the council to provide an important service to local people. To increase prices to generate more income would mean fewer users.”
A recent Audit Scotland report showed leisure centre usage in Angus per head of the population to be the highest in mainland Scotland.
A council spokeswoman added that all of the leisure centres had been recognised in by the Quest awards scheme, which recognises management achievements in facilities of this kind UK wide.
She said, “The scheme assesses a number of management areas including strategy and planning, operations and delivery, customer relations and staff management.
“Assessed against a number of standards, Angus is among the highest scorers in Scotland, and is among the top leisure providers in the UK.”