News / ‘Outrageous’ and ‘shameful’: Scalloway pool closure stuns area’s councillors
SCALLOWAY’s councillors have reacted with shock to the news that the area is set to lose its leisure centre in the coming months.
Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT) announced on Friday that it would close the building on Tuesday 31 March, with staff offered the chance to move to other SRT-owned sites.
A spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the trust was not considering closing any of its other buildings.
The organisation said it was attempting to secure its wider long-term sustainability, and that some services offered at Scalloway would be moved to other sites including the Clickimin in Lerwick.
But that has proved scant consolation to the village community, which has been left stunned by the sudden news.
Davie Sandison, elected member for Shetland Central, called the move “outrageous” and said it had come “out of the blue”.
Sandison claimed there had been no consultation or prior notification for the community or the leisure centre’s staff.
And he said that with the SRT recently receiving higher core funding from Shetland Charitable Trust (SCT), the “timing is very surprising”.
The SRT is inviting interested parties to explore how the building can be retained or repurposed as a “valuable part of the Scalloway community’s future”.
Sandison said he was “totally opposed” to the closure, but would need to “see the numbers” behind the building before thinking how else it could be used.
Fellow Shetland Central councillor Catherine Hughson said the news had come as a “complete surprise” to her.
“I am disappointed with the loss of this service to the community of Scalloway and the wider central areas,” she said.
“I totally understand the problems that the SRT face. Coming from a third sector background balancing the books each year is very challenging.”
But Hughson said she felt the SCT “could be doing more” to help support the recreational trust.
She added she felt it would be “difficult” and “very costly” to change the building for another use.
Ian Scott said it was “absolutely shameful” that the pool is set to be closed, saying the move came while trustees of SCT “sit on their hands”.
“Our own council ploughs a similar furrow, as the next budget will show, and so the austerity continues,” he said.
“Unless and until we rid ourselves of the dead hand of right wing politics, everything will stay the same.”
Scott claimed that the pool closure was “just the start”, with “other cuts in the offing”.
Moraig Lyall, who also represents Shetland Central, agreed that the closure will be a “real blow to many in Scalloway who have benefited from this facility over many years”.
“Swimming pools are very expensive to operate, and the increased cost of energy has made it doubly so,” she said.
“The SRT, like the SIC, are having to look at how they remain sustainable into the future. I’m certain this decision will have been made very reluctantly.”
Lyall said it would be “for the Scalloway community to consider” what the future of the building is.
But she said if the SRT could not make it work financially, she would be “cautious” about the local community taking It on – “unless they had a very clear vision for its future use”.
Explaining the decision taken by trustees, SRT chief executive Robert Geddes said the organisation has been under financial pressure for many years.
The SRT said that even if “massively increased funding became available”, the trust would still have “unsustainable staffing challenges”.
“We have worked extremely hard over the past couple of years, making changes to our structure and operations to deliver the same level of service for the foreseeable future,” Geddes said.
“Using all the data available to us to ensure future provision of facilities, trustees are clear this is the most appropriate way forward to achieve that goal.
“I’d like to assure customers of our Scalloway Pool that all services, including swimming lessons, will be transferred to other SRT sites with as little disruption as possible.”
The pool already had its opening hours reduced – with the building closed on Fridays – as part of a wider move in 2023 to make the SRT more sustainable.
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