Letters / Why on earth are we closing this much prized asset?

As the closure of the Scalloway swimming pool looms large, there is one aspect of this sorry debacle that intrigues me.

As there was apparently little or no effort to request funding from the mothership – the Shetland Charitable Trust – do I take it then that the pool closure has been on the Shetland Recreational Trust’s agenda for a while now?

This fantastic Shetland asset is about to be thrown to the dogs for the sake of a few pounds, by a number of unaccountable, unelected individuals, who are supposedly in place to safeguard our assets, not to destroy them.

So, I suppose this question arises: was there no request for adequate funding because the whole purpose of the exercise was just to close the pool?

Huge credit must be given to those who have actually campaigned to save the pool and to the incredible amount of people who have signed the petition – nearly 5,000.

Regrettably, elsewhere in Scotland, libraries and swimming pools and other valuable community assets have been destroyed due to our love of austerity.

We are in the fortunate position to alleviate this destruction. Why on earth therefore are we closing this much prized asset?

Councillor Ian Scott
Scalloway