Council / SIC limited in what it can do over Scalloway pool closure plans, leader says
SHETLAND Islands Council (SIC) leader Emma Macdonald has reiterated there is little the local authority can do regarding the planned closure of Scalloway pool.
It comes after local SNP Scottish parliament election candidate Hannah Mary Goodlad asked for the SIC to “step up”, and questioned if Macdonald could “lend her voice” to help the community in its bid to prevent closure at the end of March.
Macdonald – who is standing for the Liberal Democrats in May’s election, against Goodlad – said in her role as SIC leader that she knows the decision by Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT) to close its pool will affect many people.
“I completely understand the level of feeling within the community around the closure of the Scalloway Pool,” she told Shetland News in response to Goodlad’s call.
“I know this decision will impact many people and I know how valued the service is, as are all of the Shetland Recreational Trust facilities across Shetland.
“I have been contacted by a number of people in my role as the council leader who have expressed concern around the communication of this news and the need for the Shetland Recreational Trust to communicate with various groups.”
Macdonald said she has already contacted SRT chief executive Robert Geddes with these concerns, and will continue to engage with the organisation.
The trust, a charity core funded by the Shetland Charitable Trust, said it had to reduce the size of its estate due to ongoing financial challenges, with the Scalloway pool ultimately picked due to factors including its proximity to Lerwick and public transport availability.
More than 2,000 signatures have so far been collected for a ‘save Scalloway pool’ petition.
Macdonald said, however, that it is important to be clear about the “limits of the council and my role in this”.
“Shetland Islands Council has no ability to overturn the decisions of another organisation,” Macdonald said.
“As a customer and user of the recreational trust’s facilities the education department is ensuring they have been working with the trust to plan for any activities that are affected and these will be communicated with the people who are impacted.”
In a social media video, Goodlad said she learned to swim at the Scalloway Pool and was concerned by its impending closure.
She said the community is “absolutely correct” in calling for the closure to be paused to understand the numbers and decision-making process better, and whether there could be different operating models.
Scalloway Community Council meanwhile said on Wednesday that it will have to wait for up to a fortnight before receiving more information from the SRT on the closure.
Recent requests from Shetland News for an interview with SRT for an update on the situation have been declined or remain unanswered.
However, when announcing its decision in mid-January the trust said it was attempting to secure its wider long-term sustainability by consolidating leisure provision in Shetland.
Services will move to other pools, and all stuff currently employed in Scalloway will be supported and given the opportunity to relocate to other SRT sites.
The trust also said it would look to speak to any interested parties in terms of retaining or re-using the Scalloway building.
The organisation has said its staff are “being stretched to deliver everything already asked of them – a more sustainable business model will allow SRT to use our staff in better ways”.
The SRT previously 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”.
A FAQs section about the SRT’s decision can be found on its website.
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