‘No sustainable long-term plan’ to maintain Scalloway pool, SIC report says
COUNCILLORS will be told next week there is no sustainable long-term plan to maintain the recently closed Scalloway swimming pool “given no additional source of sustainable funding can be identified”.
Shetland Islands Council chief executive Maggie Sandison also highlighted in a report that the local authority itself is facing “significant and unavoidable cost pressures”.
The report was written after a motion was passed in March from Shetland Central councillor Davie Sandison on the SIC’s partnership with Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT), which operated the pool.
Maggie Sandison met with the SRT and its core funder Shetland Charitable Trust (SCT) in May.
The Scalloway pool’s closure in April came as the SRT – which operates seven other leisure centres across Shetland – sought to become more financially sustainable.
A petition calling for the pool to stay open attracted nearly 5,000 signatures.
Part of the motion from Davie Sandison was to report back on “options for a sustainable long-term plan to maintain the operation of the Shetland Recreational Trust and the Scalloway Pool into the future”.
The message back from Maggie Sandison was that there is no sustainable long-term plan to maintain the Scalloway Pool, given funding challenges.
She highlighted that the SRT risked insolvency if it did not close a facility, and that the SCT was not in a position to extend its grant offer without affecting other organisations.
The report said the council requires £45.7 million of reserves support in 2026/27 to balance its books, of which around £26 million is unsustainable. National pay awards, inflation and rising demand are all factors around increasing costs.
“The council has a programme of reviews and service redesigns which aim to reduce its expenditure in order to reduce its unsustainable draw on general fund reserves,” the report added.
“This includes increasing the fees for services and reducing, and stopping services which are not statutory.
“The council’s statutory duty is being met because even with the closure of Scalloway Pool there is ‘adequate provision of facilities for the inhabitants of their area for recreational, sporting, cultural and social activities’.”
SRT-run swimming lessons which took place at the Scalloway pool have now moved to the Clickimin Leisure Complex in Lerwick.
The report also said that SRT has confirmed that, “provided there are no unanticipated financial shocks”, it expects to be financially sustainable until 2030.
It has been agreed that the SCT, SIC and SRT chief executives will meet when the financial projections for the next funding round are being prepared in 2030.
This is to understand the sustainable funding requirements for the SRT for the period 2031-35.
It added: “When the SRT applied for their core grant from SCT for the period 2025-2030 they sought an uplift in grant to sustain service levels across their eight sites.
“This funding request was not fully met which led to Trustees determining that due to their inability to balance their budget their reserves would be exhausted by 2028/29.”
It is said that the closure of the Scalloway pool will achieve £952,000 in savings through to 2030.
Sandison said SRT have “stressed that the savings achieved by closing Scalloway Pool are less than the additional income required to continue to operate Scalloway Pool because maintaining the staffing levels at this level is unsustainable”.
The report, to be presented at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday, said the SIC spent £766,000 last year on the use of SRT premises and other services.
The cost of this use has risen from £508,000 in 2020/21.
The report also offers an insight in the booking relationship between the SIC and SRT for swimming PE lessons.
It said the council pays the standard rate charge for pool hires for any swimming lessons booked, “whereas use of the rural facilities is more complex and requires the council to book sessions of at least half a day for either PE and/or swimming”.
“This arrangement has been agreed with SRT to assist them with their staffing and sustainability of their facilities, as it was accepted by the council that only booking for an hour or two would not be sustainable for SRT staff, without other customers to fill the gaps in their opening periods.”
The agreement with SRT for the use of the Clickimin Leisure Complex for Anderson High School PE lessons, excluding use of the swimming pool, includes a requirement for the council to pay an annual lump sum.
Meanwhile it is said that the estimated total cost of swimming lessons was £260,596 in 2024/25.
This included pool hires, staffing costs and bus hires.
This further equated to a cost of £51 per child per lesson based on 851 children being offered six weeks of swimming lessons.
“Costs are high but the council recognises its role in supporting the ongoing sustainability of SRT as a valued partner in the delivery of swimming and PE across Shetland,” the report added.
It also acknowledges the community campaign to keep the pool open.
It said that a survey conducted by the group concluded that the closure of the pool is “perceived by a large majority of respondents as a significant negative loss, with impacts extending beyond leisure into health, education, equality, and community sustainability”.
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