REPRESENTATIVES from Argyll and Bute Council, liveArgyll and the HSCP (Health and Social Care Partnership), have been given the green light to assess nine potential sites for Dunoon’s new leisure centre.
A report, which went before the Policy and Resources Committee last Thursday, detailing a list of sites for consideration which could replace the ageing Riverside Leisure Centre, was unanimously approved by councillors.
It’s understood a collective, comprising of council officials and representatives from liveArgyll and the HSCP, will now assess the options laid out in the report and score each site based on specific criteria.
The sites they will look at are the existing Riverside site, land at Dunoon Stadium, Black Park football ground, an area of Dixon Avenue, Glenmorag car park, Hamilton Street Depot, Castle Gardens, Dolphin Hall and land at Sandbank.
Their findings will then be presented to councillors in November for a decision on the preferred site.
Structural issues with the Riverside have been well documented and the need for a new leisure centre has been recognised, but during last Thursday’s meeting the issue of a potential gap in the provision of a swimming pool was discussed.
Councillor Amanda Hampsey (Oban South and the Isles) raised the point that the existing Riverside facility runs the increasing risk of closure beyond 2029, which could occur before a new facility has been completed.
She explained: “Given the clear need for continued swimming and leisure provision in the Dunoon and Cowal area, can officers advise what timetable would be required to ensure replacement provision can be delivered before the existing facility reaches the point where it can no longer operate?”
Answering Councillor Hampsey’s question, Ross McLaughlin, the council’s head of commercial services, said: “The purpose of the investment that we made in the existing Riverside last year was to extend the lifespan as long as we potentially can.
“The prediction is that we could extend that out to 2029. It is a bit of a moving feast. I don’t think anyone can give an absolute certainty of when these repairs can last. We will be hoping to extend that as long as we possibly can.
“He added: “We will be continually monitoring the structural repairs that have been done, and the effects of that building, but it is a building of its age, which has a lifespan on it, and will continue to extend that where it is economically and practically possible.
“And this is why we’re trying to bring this project forward as quickly as we possibly can, because anything that we do to the existing Riverside will be a remedial measure. It is not a modern facility.”
Councillor Hampsey also questioned the financial position of the project and said: “Given the importance of delivering a sustainable long-term replacement rather than a low-cost short-term option, will [a financial assessment] give sufficient weight to the maintenance and long-term resilience of the facility?”
Jonathan Speed, project manager in commercial services, replied: “Our intention is to model over a 40-year period. We are working to understand the terms, but we are monitoring all this pending the report being accepted. We absolutely will look at the life cycle and operation costs.”
A key figure behind the report and the continuing work to identify a preferred site for a new leisure facility in Dunoon is local Councillor and policy lead for finance and commercial services, Ross Moreland.
Back in May, during a Dunoon Community Council meeting, he was quizzed about a number of issues regarding the Riverside facility and his openness to address such questions resulted in a frank conversation which revealed details about the building’s fragile lifespan.
Speaking to the Observer this week, Councillor Moreland acknowledged that Argyll and Bute Council could not guarantee Dunoon would retain at least its current level of swimming provision, but said the focus remained on opening a new facility within Riverside’s remaining operational lifespan, which, while challenging, was still considered achievable.
He said: “Ultimately, the decision on the building of a new leisure centre will be a decision for councillors, who will have to make the difficult and necessary decisions to make this project possible from a financial point of view. Since we began looking at this project, I have believed that is achievable both politically and financially and remain confident on both. No council can guarantee leisure facilities, as councils don’t have a statutory duty to provide them.
“There’s been some online criticism of the report’s inclusion of an option of no replacement pool, considering Dunoon is a coastal community and the report itself identifies water safety and swimming confidence as objectives.
“Councillor Moreland explained: “As the paper states clearly, that is a counterfactual which, in this case, represents a do-nothing option, which is included to understand the costs of this option, and the value of what could be lost. Same with the option of travel. As with all projects, every scenario must be considered when building a business case.
“Final capital and running costs would depend on the final facility chosen. This project came about not just because of the structural issues in the Riverside Leisure Centre but also the opportunity to provide Dunoon and Cowal with a new leisure centre and all the health, social and wellbeing benefits that it could bring. Riverside, even without the structural issues, is not fit to serve Cowal currently or going forward. A possible new leisure centre in a time of significant financial strain is a huge financial, logistical, and political challenge, but one that can be delivered.”
