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The Courier
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Courier
Perth campaigners raise equality fears over Bell's Sports Centre plans
Bell's Sports Centre campaigners have demanded answers from Perth and Kinross Council's chief executive as they raise equality fears over the local authority's plans for the facility. Bill Powrie, a member of Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN), wrote to local authority boss Thomas Glen about the proposal to turn the North Inch complex into an unheated arena. The campaign group fear the plan could negatively impact groups most at risk of discrimination, like the elderly, women and disabled sports players. Speaking about over 50s, Bill said: 'This group needs low impact sports like badminton and table tennis that can be played into your 80s. 'Women in the main do not play football and neither do the many disabled people who used to play wheelchair sports like boccia in Bell's. 'These people will be severely affected if the plans go ahead.' The campaigners' complaint is not the first time the local authority has been accused of sacrificing sports that cater for the elderly and disabled in recent years. It was also levelled at the council and Live Active Leisure (LAL) when they made the decision to axe indoor bowls from the city entirely when they moved the gym from Bell's to Dewars Centre. A team of Perthshire international bowls players with disabilities stated the council were putting their future in the sport at risk while Age Scotland also criticised the move. That was only 12 months ago, now the council is facing the same criticism again. The latest census results on the council website states that the Perth and Kinross population is 'evidently aging', with a quarter of residents 65 or over. Last year, The Courier revealed that LAL failed to carry out any consultation in their Equality and Fairness Impact Assessment (EIFA) regarding the move from Bell's. In the section of the report set aside for outlining the findings of said consultation, LAL wrote: 'None.' Under the Equality Act 2010, a public body or organisation is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. In their report, LAL was unable to find any positive outcomes for closing Bell's for those with disabilities and the single positive for the elderly was that there were good bus routes to Dewars. To further his point, Bill told the chief executive that there are already other facilities within Perth that have, or will have, artificial pitches. He said: 'There are plenty of 3G pitches coming on stream in the near future. 'St Johnstone Football Club, Jeanfield Swifts are building two, Tulloch and when Perth High School is knocked down there will be two more pitches created. 'The usages quoted for football are 20,000 but Bell's used to have 260,000 usages every year.' The future of Bell's, alongside the much-maligned PH2O Thimblerow project, is set to go before council again next month. A spokesperson for the local authority said: 'We recognise the value of sport and recreation for people's general wellbeing. '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 was told that the chief executive, Mr Glen, will reply to Bill 'in due course'.
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Yes/No survey results on future of Bell's Sports Centre do not give the full picture say campaigners.
Respondents' comments, obtained under FoI, show broad range of preferences for the iconic city building. Campaigners fighting to save Perth's iconic Bell's Sports Centre have been angered by a council survey on the building's future use. They say that while simple yes/no answers were sought to questions — including its conversion into an unheated facility — respondents' comments suggest a broader range of preferences. The survey, which received 1981 responses, was carried out between mid November 2024 to mid January 2025. However, the comments only came to light following a Freedom of Information request by campaigners. The FoI had initially been turned down by PKC. Survey feedback is to be included in a paper to go before councillors in the coming months to decide the building's future. Bill Powrie of campaign group Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN) said: 'Having analysed the results of the 1600 comments made by respondents to the council survey, which were only obtained at the second time of asking through an FoI request, it became apparent to me many respondents wanted to qualify their answers. 'For example, many people who voted yes to question five, the unheated option, then went on to make a comment which indicated that they wanted to keep Bell's open for heated indoor sports. 'For a clearer picture of what the public want the question should have been asked if they supported an unheated 3G option or heated for a number of sports.' The conversion of Bell's into an unheated events space for indoor sports pitches was backed by 1198 survey respondents while 783 disagreed. One response backing the unheated option, which campaigners say shows the nuanced nature of the results, states: '[I} partially agree. 'I would like to still be able to play badminton there. That being said, I believe the venue can accommodate multiple sports/activities. 'Yes, by all means a footie indoor [pitch] would be useful, but so is badminton, hockey, squash and keeping the sports centres open for school use too. In winter the schools need use of an indoor space for their PE lessons.' Another response states: 'Having answered 'yes' I think that [the unheated events space] is an appropriate use, but I also think that some form of heating should be available [for] other sports, eg: indoor tennis, badminton, indoor bowling, fitness classes, volleyball and other mass participation events....[this] brings people into the [city] centre to the benefit of the centre and other businesses at a 'slow' time of year.' Bell's was shut after floodgates were left open in October 2023 causing £2m in damage. Services — provided by arm's-length PKC external organisation Live Active Leisure (LAL) — were transferred to the Dewars Centre and the school estate in Spring 2024. The building was listed by Historic Environment Scotland last year and the family of its late Perth architect, John Davidson, are among those backing the campaign to keep it open as a multi-use sports facility. An online petition to reopen Bell's as a multi-use indoor sports venue currently has more than 3600 signatures. Sports club group Perth and Kinross Community Sports Network (PKCSN) - made up of 12 sports and 3500 members – has also set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money for an assessment on keeping Bell's open as a heated indoor sports facility catering for a range of sports. A Perth and Kinross 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.'
