The Bells Sport Centre is an iconic building in central Perth. Since its opening in 1968 it has provided much needed facilities for Perth & Kinross-shire. Right now, the population of Perth is growing, this means that there will be a growing demand for sports and leisure facilities in our community, especially for children and young people.
The SNP-led Council has accepted Live Active Leisure moving its services out of Bells, I wholeheartedly disagree with this decision. The Bells Sport Centre has been partially closed since it was flooded last year as a result of the SNP-led council's poor response to flooding experienced earlier in the year. The failure to close the floodgates and properly protect the Bells facility has caused an estimated £2 million worth of damage. Approximately £902,000 is now being spent converting the Dewars Centre bowling carpet into a gym and meeting rooms into fitness studios, instead of reopening Bells. This all links to plans to consolidate Bells, the Dewars Centre and Perth Leisure Pool into a single facility. This facility would likely feature drastically reduced ice provision for curling, no leisure pool, and a reduced area for swimming, as well as the complete removal of bowling facilities. Now the centre's dome is listed by HES, it cannot be demolished, so a plan is needed.
Now is not the time to be closing and cutting back. Instead, it is vital that we invest in sports and leisure to ensure our facilities are fit for the demands of our growing communities.
As an accountant, I understand the need to make sound financial decisions. However, these facilities are not a burden, they are an investment. Leisure and sports facilities not only support the local economy, but are an investment in the mental and physical wellbeing of our community, something that is needed now more than ever.
There is also a real opportunity to turn these facilities into significant assets for our area. Investing in leading sporting facilities will allow us to draw in people not just from the local area and other parts of Scotland, but from around the world to come and compete in our city. This would allow us to fill our hotels, bars and restaurants with people, as well as create jobs. We should have world leading curling facilities that allow us to host the highest level of competitions as well as train the next generation of Eve Muirheads. We need swimming facilities that allow our young people to train competitively while also having a space for families and other residents to enjoy swimming.
Now I know it is all well and good to say that we should have these things, but we need politicians to actually deliver change. I believe my record shows that I can deliver on financial support large projects; while I was MP for South Perthshire 2017–19, I secured £10 million from the UK Government for the Perth Museum that opened in March this year, as well as helping to secure £5m in levelling up funding in the most recent UK Budget.
If I’m elected as your MP, I will work to secure more funding directly from Westminster, as I have done in the past. I will also demand the SNP-led Council and the Scottish Government prioritise local investment instead of the millions they are spending internationally. I will put together a strong economic and social plan for our local facilities, drawing on both my previous experience in Parliament and my experience in the private sector. I will engage with and push both the local council and the Scottish Parliament to do their part and properly fund these projects to ensure our potential isn’t wasted. I will seek the advice and support of relevant organisations, such as Scottish Curling and the local swimming teams.
I am committed to seeing Bells being redeveloped and reopened, but would like to hear your views. What would you like to see at Bells? Which sports and facilities should be Perth's priority? Please let me know by completing the survey below: