Perth's three major sports centres could be merged to one site as cost-cutting plans come into focus

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Perth and Kinross Council is proposing a major shake up in how it runs its sports, arts and library facilities - with the current setup labelled “unaffordable”.It could result in the merging of Perth’s three major sports centres, the relocation and closure of libraries and the closure of two Perth art buildings.Failure to act could result in the council forking out £20million in repairs.The radical plan comes after a widespread review by Glasgow Audit, who found the local authority is facing “significant” future financial pressures and a huge drop in service use.Twelve cost-cutting recommendations will be made in a report to councillors on the future of three arms-length external organisations (ALEOs), Live Active Leisure (LAL), Perth Theatre and Concert Hall, and Culture Perth and Kinross (CPK), at a full council meeting on Wednesday.These include merging the three operating bodies into one organisation, as well as consolidating Bell’s Sports Centre, Dewars Centre and Perth Leisure Pool onto one site.The report states: “The combined operating deficits of Perth Leisure Pool, Dewars Centre and Bell’s is currently £1.6million [per year, projected to rise in coming years].“These properties are all over 30 years old and increasingly at risk of unplanned failures, including increased flood risk as at PLP and Bell’s in 2020 and 2023.”We told you last week how the repair bill for Bell’s Sports Centre - swamped when the council failed to close North Inch floodgates in time during extreme weather last month - could top £2million.The report adds that if the council was to “do nothing” it would need to spend an estimated £20million over the next five years to maintain all 35 current properties, “renew key infrastructure, such as