East Renfrewshire MP, Eastwood MSP and several local Councillors have weighed in to support the re-development or refurbishment of Eastwood Leisure Centre. However, they have blasted any proposals to have the facility moved.
This intervention came as result of East Renfrewshire Council launching a consultation on how to fix the crumbling centre.
The four options available in the consultation are as follows; 1. Reactive maintenance only (cost of £49,000 per annum) 2. Refurbishment (cost of £11 million), 3. Redevelopment on the existing site (cost of £16 million) and option 4. A new build on a larger new site. (cost £25 - £30 million)
Writing into the consultation East Renfrewshire MP, Paul Masterton, and Eastwood MSP, Jackson Carlaw, noted that after nearly a decade of underfunding “option one does not go far enough towards addressing the needs of the local community.”
The local MP, MSP and Scottish Conservative Council group have also expressed their concern at option 4 and have stated that costs for a brand-new facility on a new piece of land could rocket beyond the estimated £35 million if a theatre is to be included. Infrastructure problems at a new facility were also raised as a concern in their submission to the consultation, noting that car spaces and additional roads would have to be built to accommodate users, at time when East Renfrewshire’s road budget is to be cut by 10%.
However, they have called for monies to be used to upgrade the current facility and are encouraging residents to support options 2 or 3. They argue that this would give a “cost-effective” revamp, enabling the centre to match that of the Barrhead Foundry and become the first-class facility it should be.
The consultation can be found here:
East Renfrewshire MP, Paul Masterton said:“We welcome this long overdue consultation on the proposals regarding Eastwood Leisure Centre, which has suffered from under investment over many years. As stated in our submission, we believe creating a brand new facility on a new site hasn’t been fully thought through and should be rejected. I am encouraging residents to write into the consultation and push for a most cost-effective solution, either refurbishment or redevelopment on the existing site, which will ensure this part of East Renfrewshire has the first class sports and leisure facility residents deserve.”
Eastwood MSP, Jackson Carlaw added:
“Option 4 on the consultation raises many logistical problems that haven’t been properly answered. For example, would the new centre be built in Broomburn Park? Something of course we would oppose in the strongest possible terms. If we gloss over the lack of a suitable location, further issues such as soaring costs, additional road infrastructure and traffic problems haven’t been thought through. We should instead be upgrading a popular local facility to the first-class centre it deserves to be, by refurbishing or re-building in the same location.”
Newton Mearns South Councillor, Jim Swift added:“It is important to remember that this facility has been underfunded for nearly a decade. East Renfrewshire Council has spent 1/3rd on maintaining Eastwood Leisure Centre, which serves almost 70,000 people compared to Neilston Leisure Centre serving just over 5,000 people over the same period and both are being proposed to be knocked down. The solution is not wasting Council tax payer’s money on a vanity project but instead looking after our assets over the longer term. If the new complex is to also include a new theatre as well, the costs for taxpayers will rocket exponentially, as will the parkland it requires to occupy.”
