Community / Scalloway Community Council to write to SRT over pool closure
SCALLOWAY Community Council is to write to Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT) requesting more information on the decision to close the village’s swimming pool.
The community council met on Monday evening, just a few days after SRT signalled its intention to close the pool at the end of March.
Chairman Lawson Bisset said the community council is keen to learn more about any data which informed SRT’s decision, and the justification for closing the pool.
He also said the community council would like to see the closure date to at least be put back to allow more time for consideration of possible ways forward.
There is also thought being given to holding a public meeting which the SRT would be invited to attend.
There are also plans among a group of individuals to set up an action group, separate to the community council, to oppose the closure.
Meanwhile the chairman Scalloway Community Development Company (SCDC) Davie Sandison, who is also an SIC councillor, said his primary focus regarding the village’s swimming pool is to oppose its complete closure.
He also described things as a “fast moving situation” but said it was too early to say what options may be possible for the future of the building.
But Sandison said that “at the very least there needs to be more time to allow interested parties to work through potential alternatives”.
With PE swimming lessons set to be affected, Shetland Islands Council said schools will liaise with the SRT to work through the detail of any changes to swimming lessons for pupils.
A spokesperson added that “we are committed to ensuring that all children continue to receive their swimming lessons”.
With bairns likely to need to have PE swimming classes at pools elsewhere, including the Clickimin, then there inevitably stands to be increased transport costs for the SIC.
It was on Friday that pool owner Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT) announced, to a fair amount of shock in the community, plans to close the building at the end of March to support the wider sustainability of the organisation.
It also invited any interested parties to consider retaining or repurposing the building.
There has been widespread concern in the community over the closure, but there are question marks over who could justifiably take on and run a swimming pool building outside of the SRT.
Some on social media have questioned if SCDC could take on the building.
SCDC is a charitable company – based just across the road at the Kirk Business Centre building – with an aim to deliver “improvements to the village and its amenities to the benefit of local residents and visitors to the area”.
One of its largest projects has been the caravan park at Asta, which opened in 2023 thanks to funding from a range of sources.
It is also proposing improvements to Scalloway’s waterfront and is also set to undertake a feasibility study on the idea of district heating for the village.
Speaking after the news about the pool was announced, Sandison said he would be keen to know more about the financial position of the building – the operating costs and liabilities, for example – before saying much more.
But he added: “To my mind, if continuing as a pool, it would need a business model that had significant volunteer input and was able to get some charitable support from SCT [Shetland Charitable Trust].
“Pricing wouldn’t be anything like a competitive level compared to heavily subsidised SRT [Shetland Recreational Trust] facilities.”
Sandison also believes it would be “highly unlikely” anyone would take on the building to convert it for an alternative use.
Aside from finances there would likely be other hurdles for any potential new owner to go through, such as staff training, regulations and health and safety.
Explaining the decision taken by trustees, SRT chief executive Robert Geddes said last week that the organisation – which receives core funding from Shetland Charitable Trust – 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 SRT said closing Scalloway “will have the least community impact due to the proximity to the nearby available sites, which have capacity to absorb the customer numbers”.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
