Latest news with #Bell's
The Courier
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Courier
Protests to be held in Perth against council's Thimblerow leisure centre plans
Protests against the local authority's plans to build a new leisure centre at Thimblerow car park are to be held in Perth. Campaigners will stage two rallies over two weeks against the widely unpopular proposals for PH2O and Bell's Sports Centre. The first protest is to be held outside Perth Leisure Pool and Dewars Centre on Glover Street at 10am on Thursday June 12. The second will take place at 9am on Wednesday June 18 outside the local authority's offices. Campaigners are staging that second rally before the 10am meeting to be held in the council chambers at 2 High Street that will decide the future of both facilities. The protest are expected to be attended by campaigners from across Perth's sporting landscape, including indoor sports and curling. Residents, clubs and swimmers have been left furious at the local authority's plans to build a watered-down facility at Thimblerow without a dedicated leisure pool. The council also hope to turn Bell's Sports Centre into an unheated arena with artificial pitches – although no final decision has been taken. Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN), who are against the plans, want people to join the protests. Nearly 3,800 people have signed a petition to save Bell's. Bill Powrie, a spokesperson for the group, said: 'It would appear that the council has made up its mind to close Bell's for indoor sports and other community activities and has decided to knock down the leisure pool at [Glover Street] and replace it with 147 affordable homes. 'Then build a sports facility on the busiest car park in Perth and build a new swimming pool with no leisure swimming. 'Given that Bell's has 22 courts, this plan represents a watering down of sport and leisure facilities for the community. 'Please come along and show your support for our collective campaign and let council know that this plan is not wanted by the people of Perth and Kinross.' The local authority and Live Active Leisure (LAL) have come in for widespread criticism for both the plans and the way they have been handled. Concerns have been raised over a lack of studies and consultation on the ideas. The Courier has been campaigning to Protect Perth Leisure and Say No to Thimblerow. The plans for the future of Perth's leisure facilities will go before councillors again on June 18. A spokesperson for the local authority said: 'Councillors approved plans to create Thimblerow in September 2024 and will decide on proposals for additional leisure water next week. 'These were determined by the results of our Transformation Review of Leisure Assets, which considered the most popular areas of participation and how we can provide accessible, affordable and sustainable leisure provision for residents across all of Perth and Kinross. 'Council also, in line with agreed policy to prioritise affordable housing when disposing of land or buildings, agreed to build affordable homes on the Glover Street site once PH20 is complete.' They said that options for Bell's are still being considered following the public consultation.
The Courier
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
John Swinney admits constituents have expressed Perth leisure concerns to him
First Minister John Swinney has encouraged Perth and Kinross Council to continue engaging with the community on their controversial leisure plans. Speaking to The Courier, Mr Swinney admitted people had raised concerns with him directly regarding the future of Bell's Sports Centre. Sports clubs and residents have lashed out at plans to build a new leisure centre at Thimblerow without a dedicated leisure pool and proposals to turn Bell's into an unheated arena with artificial pitches. More than 6,200 people have signed two petitions against the ideas. Campaigners, including Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network, want Bell's reopened for indoor sports and a leisure pool built at Glover Street. 'I've had people coming to see me with concerns about the proposals at Bell's,' said Mr Swinney. 'I think it's important that the aspirations that they are setting out are properly considered.' The first minister encouraged communication between the factions but admitted money was an issue. Mr Swinney said: 'The council's got to wrestle with very significant financial challenges around any particular project. 'Now what I do know is that the council has engaged substantively with the local community on these questions. 'I would encourage, obviously, that dialogue to carry on. 'But I recognise – I'm the first to recognise because I'm wrestling with it all the time – the challenges and the public finances the council will face because there will be multiple demands that they've got to address.' However, the Perthshire MSP was adamant that quality sport and leisure services provided by the local authority were vital for communities. He said: 'There's got to be good council leisure services. 'It's absolutely vital. 'The health and wellbeing of the population needs a certain amount of active intervention by individuals themselves but they've got to have facilities to use. 'And they've got to be affordable and accessible for members of the public. 'I think councils being active in this whole area of policy is vital for the health and wellbeing for the population.' Perth and Kinross Council has come in for much criticism for their consultation on Bell's which campaigners have slammed as 'misleading'. Equality concerns have also been raised around numerous decisions taken by the local authority and Live Active Leisure regarding their leisure provision over the last 12 months. The future of PH2O, Bell's Sports Centre and Dewars Centre is expected to go before councillors again next month. A spokesperson for the local authority said: 'We have met with the Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network and their proposals will be considered as part of our response to the consultation. 'These plans are also informed by the findings of our Leisure Assets Review, which looked at demand and usage across all our facilities in Perth and Kinross, and the available capital budget.'
The Courier
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Bell's Sports Centre poll results reveal hundreds of Courier readers back heated indoor facility for Perth
Hundreds of Courier readers have voted in favour of reopening Bell's Sports Centre in Perth as a fully heated facility for indoor sports. More than 90% of people who took part in the poll backed this option. The future of the popular North Inch complex has been the cause of much public anger in recent months with the local authority proposing the centre be turned into an unheated arena with artificial pitches. Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN), who represent twelve sporting groups in the area, want the facility reopened as a multi-use indoor sports hall. They have the backing of at least nine national sporting bodies and more than 3,750 people who have signed a petition. The campaigners called Perth and Kinross Council's public consultation on Bell's 'misleading' and raised equality concerns over the proposals. Around 2,000 people responded to the council's consultation with 60% of people voting for an unheated future. However, campaigners argue that the survey was flawed as the local authority did not give an option for Bell's to be reopened as a heated indoor facility. The Courier gave our readers that choice. And the result for the latest survey was a landslide. As can be seen in the graph, 303 respondents (91.27%) voted in favour of reopening Bell's Sports Centre as a heated indoor facility. Only 29 people (8.73%) were against the idea. The Courier made clear in our accompanying debate article the choice between heated and unheated. As well as voting on our poll, readers also left comments on what they wanted for Bell's. Every response bar one was in favour of a heated indoor facility. Louise said: 'It absolutely should be reopened to a heated venue. 'It was a fantastic building and was very much used by the local community and is sorely missed. 'Kids will now be missing out on so many sports because schools can't use the facilities like they once did. 'The council should be ashamed that they made everyone believe the option was closure or an unheated venue.' Posting as Wroebots, a reader said: 'The sports centre should most certainly be reinstated to its full functionality. 'We were playing badminton on a weekly basis, if not at Bell's, then at the campus. 'Now, as people book for the following week on the day they play, it's impossible to get a court in Perth. 'The multitude of team sports and two player sports the centre offered (beyond football) should be readily available to the city.' The future of Bell's, along with the much-maligned PH2O proposal for Thimblerow, is set to go before council again next month. A spokesperson for the local authority said: 'We have met with the Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network and their proposals will be considered as part of our response to the consultation. 'Our plans for Bell's and the new PH20 facility, will, alongside our school estate, cater for sports such as badminton. 'These plans are also informed by the findings of our Leisure Assets Review, which looked at demand and usage across all our facilities in Perth and Kinross, and the available capital budget.'
The Courier
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Fair City Rollers slam 'shameful' unheated plan for Bell's Sports Centre in Perth
Perth's roller derby team has slammed proposals to turn Bell's Sports Centre into an unheated facility as 'shameful'. Fair City Rollers are demanding the iconic complex is reopened after its closure from flooding severely impacted their club. A spokesperson for the club said: 'We think that Bell's Sports Centre should be rebuilt as a venue that fully supports its former patrons – not just activities and sports suited to astroturf. 'There is nothing in Perth and Kinross that has the same facilities that Bell's had. 'The alternative venues don't have the same capacity and quality. 'To lose such a sports asset is shameful. 'The value it brings to the community completely outweighs the cost to repair the damage caused by flooding.' The club say the effect of closing Bell's after it was flooded has been devastating for the team. They were left unable to train for months and have seen their club shrink substantially. The team claim the alternative venues they have found at Perth Grammar School and Perth High School have come with issues. 'Before Bell's was closed due to flooding, we were a thriving club with nearly 50 members,' said the spokesperson. 'After Bell's was flooded we were unable to train for nearly four months due to the difficulty finding a suitable hall in Perth that allowed skating. 'Due to the length of time that we were unable to train and without access to Bell's large and well maintained floor space, we have been reduced to fewer than 10 regular attendees. 'This is making it very difficult for us to continue as a club.' Fair City Rollers has joined a growing number of voices from Perth's sports community calling for Bell's to be returned to its former glory as an indoor sports complex. A petition to save the venue has reached over 3,700 signatures. The council propose turning it into an unheated arena with artificial pitches. The future of the facility touches on the wider plans for a new leisure centre which has been near-universally criticised by residents and sports teams alike. The spokesperson said: 'Our situation, alongside the general negative effects to other sports that were based at Bell's, highlights the critical need for a versatile, accessible space that serves the diverse sporting community Bell's once supported. 'This need can only be met by repairing and reopening Bell's as soon as possible.' The club also pointed to their inclusive nature as a benefit they bring to the city's sporting community. Perth and Kinross Council chief executive Thomas Glen has been questioned on how the proposed unheated facility will impact the elderly, women and players with disabilities. It's the second time that equality concerns have been raised in 12 months regarding the council and Live Active Leisure and their leisure plans. 'Roller Derby is an inclusive sport, welcoming individuals of all backgrounds and abilities,' said the club spokesperson. 'Our club actively encourages people to return to sport later in life, with most of our members aged between 30 and 55.' 'Perth and Kinross Council should be fighting for the future of Bell's not allowing this amazing asset to be lost.' The plan, alongside the PH2O project, is set to come back before councillors in June. A council spokesperson said: 'Almost 2,000 people responded to the consultation on the future of Bell's Sports Centre. 'A summary of responses has been provided to councillors and will be used to inform our proposals for the sports centre when they are presented to council in June.'
The Courier
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
SEAN O'NEIL: Who is new Perth leisure centre actually for?
I have a question for Perth and Kinross Council. Who is the new proposed leisure centre at Thimblerow actually for? The swimmers don't want it. The curlers don't want it. The indoor sports community doesn't want it. Our Olympians don't want it. And the public doesn't want it. Nobody wants this £61 million project. Well, nobody except a handful of councillors and some unelected officers and their boss. This week, the Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN) slammed the council consultation on the future of Bell's Sports Centre as 'misleading'. They are a campaign group representing a dozen local sports groups and backed by nine national sporting bodies. PKCSN want Bell's reopened as an indoor sports venue and are opposed to their inclusion in the PH2O plans which leaves them with less facilities. The council wants to turn Bell's into an unheated arena with artificial pitches. And the campaigners are angry with the council's public consultation as it only offered up one option on the future of Bell's, the unheated one. There was no proposal to reopen Bell's in its previous guise, before it was flooded when the council opted not to close the floodgates on the North Inch despite storm warnings. PKCSN's concern is that people opted for a yes vote as they were afraid it was that or nothing. It's a valid concern when you read some of the comments left on the consultation. I think the consultation led people exactly where the council wanted them to go. The Bell's consultation typifies one of the main issues surrounding this whole PH2O Thimblerow leisure centre fiasco. It doesn't seem like any other options are getting a fair crack at the whip. Questions are being written to suit the answer, not the other way around. In the Bell's consultation, for example, the council had already written a report that the public should only be asked about an unheated future for the facility. Is that really a consultation? When you've already decided the outcome you want the most. It's a slight improvement on having no consultations at all I suppose, which had been the council's and Live Active Leisure's (LAL) modus operandi up until that stage. Then there's car parking. The council's desire is to build their unwanted new leisure centre, with no dedicated leisure pool, on the most popular car park in Perth. This will obviously reduce the number of car parking spaces in the city centre. But hold on a second it won't, because the council are buying Kinnoull Street car park and that totally negates the loss of Thimblerow. The people of Perth will now have the ability to park in a car park they always had the ability to park in. And that's totally how maths works. But wait, there's more. Unfortunately, the council's incredible Kinnoull Street coup hasn't quite offset the loss of Thimblerow spaces enough to justify the depleted numbers at peak shopping times. But that's okay, because there's also now the 1,324 spaces at St Catherine's Retail Park. This is incredible for two reasons and again shows how information is presented to suit the answer and not the question. The council do not own the car park at St Catherine's Retail Park. So on one hand, the loss of Thimblerow doesn't matter because the council are replacing it with a car park that already exists but they didn't own (Kinnoull Street). But on the other hand, the loss of Thimblerow doesn't matter because people can just park at this car park that already exists and the council still doesn't own. That's not even the most baffling element of St Catherine's Retail Park car park being included in the figures. This is an out-of-town retail park. The council's whole argument for building this leisure centre that nobody wants at Thimblerow is because it will, somehow, attract more footfall to the city centre. And yet, the way they are counteracting the loss of the most popular car park in the city centre is by telling shoppers they can park at the out-of-town retail park. Anyone even mildly aware of high street discourse over the last decade will know out-of-town retail parks are considered one of the main reasons behind high street decline, with the availability of free car parking a key factor. I would say make it make sense, but I suspect they don't want it to. So I'll ask it again. Who is this new Perth leisure centre at Thimblerow actually for? Because it's not the shoppers either.
