Blairgowrie and Glens Councillors Caroline Shiers and Bob Brawn have welcomed an additional investment of £400k in the new recreation centre to be built to replace the ageing facilities in the town which will deliver a 6-lane, 25 m competition standard pool and an extension to the new gym facilities.
Speaking in the budget debate Cllr Brawn said,
“Following several consultations culminating in a public meeting on 11 September last year, it was a common theme that the Reccy Centre required a 6-lane pool. A few days following that the Leader of the Council announced that “nothing was set in stone.” Councillor Shiers and I have maintained the momentum for this addition to the project and I am proud that our Administration has taken heed of the public’s voice and that we will now have the desired pool. With this and the £500K 3G sport pitch at Davie Park, the total investment comes to £15.6m. We now have to work with everyone, including the local community, to get this project moving once and for all.”
Caroline Shiers added,
"At the time the Council set the capital budget last year there was ongoing uncertainty around the Tay City Deal. We said at that time that as soon as that uncertainty was cleared up, and we had a clear picture of all of the financial commitments of the council, we would make an announcement regarding the 6th lane of the pool and we have delivered on that commitment.
"The total funding package for the Reccy will deliver a state of the art recreation centre and PE facilities for Blairgowrie High School. There will also be the very long-awaited new pitch at the High School for hockey. In addition we are investing £500k in facilities at Davie Park. This is something that was a very clear requirement of the local community in the consultants report and I am proud that our Administration has responded to this demand.
"An initial meeting has already taken place with the SFA about how we can work with the community to maximise this substantial investment. What we are delivering is recreation facilities in Blairgowrie and in Rattray which will serve future generations of residents. I am delighted and will work with the local community, the High School and Live Active Leisure to get these projects delivered as quickly as possible."
Murdo Fraser MSP also commented:
“It is good to see the Recreation Centre in Blairgowrie getting this boost in funding. SNP Government cuts to Council core funding means that there have been difficult decisions to take around spending, but this commitment, along with the new pitches, shows that we have a Scottish Conservative-led Council investing in leisure facilities in the area."