Budget Cuts and Pool Closures

-

As someone who grew up on the outskirts of Glasgow and loved being involved in the sport of swimming and being able to experience various benefits, as per my last posts, the recent calls for budget cuts in community leisure centres and the uncertainty regarding wether several of them will remain open has deeply saddened me. 

 

In recent years, there has been many conversations around the closure of swimming pools in Scotland. If we take a look at the proposed closures by North Lanarkshire Council, there were 4 pools outlined in a 2023 report which were at risk of permanent closure, which would impact many workers jobs and social life activities. Scottish Swimming issued a statement on the matter whereby several members of the community, conveyed their sense of extreme disappointment about the news and exclaimed the urgency that these pools must remain open. Particularly due to the fact the UK is an “island nation” and is crucially important that people must learn to swim as part of their safety, a key point that I strongly agree with and have discussed the importance of in a previous post.

 

In result of events like this, Scottish Swimming have started the “save our pools” campaign which further exclaims the importance of being able to swim and having access to pools. The campaign has also been designed to raise awareness of how recent energy price increases are largely at fault for the closure of several pools as the running costs would leave local authorities at a financial loss from keeping them open. A particular example here, looks at West Lothian Council, where 3 pools were closed in 2023 due to the tightening of diminishing local authority budgets as running costs were too high. This has decreased the numbers of available swimming pools in this authority down from 19 to 16, with the imminent threat of more closures looming.


 

Majorly, the aim of this campaign is to increase awareness and support from the Scottish government, both socially and financially, in these pressuring circumstances where increasing prices are putting vital community hubs like swimming pools at risk and leaving them with fewer areas to keep fit or socialise. It’s a problem that needs to be fixed.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A day in the life; perks of being a swimming teacher

-
  So far it has been made clear that there are many physical and social benefits that are gained from being involved in the sport of swimming, but at the core of these leisure centres are the staff which keeps them in operation, which further strengthens that there is a great economic benefit at hand by providing employment opportunities.    For someone like me who has a particularly busy schedule as a university student, devoting large chunks of my day attending classes and carrying out private study. I have little time to work long shifts to earn money, which is the significant benefit of staying involved with swimming and turning it into your job! At the age of 18 I became a fully qualified swimming instructor and have been teaching lessons for over 2 years now for several swimming lesson providers and wouldn’t have it any other way.    (I am by no means suggesting that this is an easy job, it just works well with my busy schedule that’s all!)   Le...
Read more

It’s a lifeskill!

-
Image
  It goes without saying that the sport of swimming is relatively unfamiliar territory for many people, by which they have only a basic capability of keeping themselves alive in the water or have never learned to swim at all which is absolutely crazy! I grew up being fortunate enough to be taken on holidays abroad throughout my childhood to soak up some sun where I quickly became accustomed to the simple solution for cooling down - jumping straight in the swimming pool! It was from those moments where I realised that I loved being in the water and was determined to learn how to swim.   Myself, my cousin and my sister enjoying time spent in the pool in Spain! (I no longer need armbands…) While I have fond memories of being in the pool for hours on end on holiday, it wasn’t until recently when I realised that much of the closest company I keep actually can’t swim. This occurred to me on a boat in Greece one year ago while on holiday with some friends. I had jumped off the...
Read more

The Community Perspective

-
Image
  Let’s take a look at Whitehill amateur swimming club, historically based in Whitehill pool, Dennistoun but have recently been relocated to Springburn swimming pool over concerns that the structure of the building is  not safe and is unfit for use. Ultimately meaning that the club no longer has its original hub, a venue they have used for many years.  Many people in the east of Glasgow, especially in Dennistoun, feel very strongly about keeping this facility open as they believe it provides a great place for people to come and exercise, particularly for young people as Whitehill Swimming club in particular, provides lessons from fully qualified and experienced teachers to children aged 5 and over for a fraction of the fees that could be charged by a potential competitor swimming lesson provider. These marginal costs are helping to keep swimming a sport for all, the way it should be, and encourage people from all backgrounds to provide their children with the right educ...
Read more