The next few years are poised to be an exciting period in Scottish sport with the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Tour de France and Euros football being just some of the events hosted here.
Not surprisingly, there is great national anticipation for these world sporting events and that raises big questions for the current administration at Perth and Kinross Council.
That’s because it’s high time the Council recognised that sport is very much on the minds of many constituents which is why there is such strong local support to retain the Bell’s Sports Centre.
By signing the current petition, l am lending my full support to the Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network for their campaign to retain the Centre as a multi-use sports facility.
The iconic structure was previously a thriving community asset for a wide range of sports such as badminton, gymnastics, netball, volleyball, table tennis, and many others, and was a highly popular venue for local sports leagues and schools. This was until careless oversight by the council led to its flooding and subsequent closure.
In a public consultation however, the Council didn’t even include the option to reopen the facility and respondents were instead directed to support a proposal for an open-air and unheated facility or face permanent closure. It shows the strength of feeling in support of Bell’s that the community refused to acquiesce to this flawed consultation.
Bell’s was not just renowned locally but formerly hosted national and international events which of course had the added economic benefit for local hospitality. All of this is set to be lost and Perth will forfeit the right to hold these events because there are no other suitable alternative venues. I recently met with a representative of the netball community who expressed their concern that the closure of Bell’s has exacerbated the drain of local players who are now commuting to Dundee instead – this sentiment is reflected across many other sports.
This campaign has shown overwhelming support for the reopening of Bell’s which the council simply cannot ignore. The proposed PH20 site and Thimblerow is a considerable downgrade on what is available now; there will be far less space, it is feared many sports will be excluded from the facility because of incompatibility, and it would not even include onsite parking in the middle of Perth, suggesting a total absence from reality on the part of planners.
Bell’s in conjunction with the uncertain future of curling, ice skating and (previously) indoor bowling at Dewars, just highlights the lack of long-term planning for sport under the current administration. Perth was once renowned for its sporting culture and heritage and we know just how important these sites are for grassroots sports and general health and wellbeing.
It would make far more sense to reopen Bell’s, scrap the discredited Thimblerow plan and instead use the existing site to build a new swimming pool and ice rink complex with associated parking.
Readers will be frustrated that their increasing council tax bill is delivering less for more.
Perth and Kinross Council is currently on a trajectory which will fail a whole generation if it limits their opportunities in sport. I urge the Council to listen to and act upon the strongest possible message from the public.
