Last Tuesday, I attended an open evening at the Holiday Inn organised by Aberdeenshire Council and the individual facility Chairs to explore the future of Westhill Leisure facilities.
No group or individual is immune from the financial climate we find ourselves in. Community solutions and participation is crucial to the survival of the leisure centres if they are to continue to provide the services residents want. I think it is a great start that the different groups have come together to look at the facilities collectively.
We heard about the successes as well as the challenges of these local facilities. Committee chairs, who are all volunteers, from Ashdale Hall, Denman Park Pavilion, Lawsondale Pavilion and pitches and Westdyke Leisure Centre gave individual presentations. The recurring theme was how cuts in funding coupled with increased running costs were making the excellent work of these groups harder to sustain.
A presentation was made by the Chair of the Garioch Sports Trust who manage the Garioch Sports Centre in Inverurie. The Trust is made up of volunteers but run very much like a business with consultants employed to get best value for goods and services. The Chair was on hand to answer questions from the floor which included advice on building and running costs of the centre and on volunteer/staff ratios.
A representative from Sportscotland told us about Community Hubs – a National approach. Each hub focuses on the needs of the particular local community, in which it is based, offering local clubs and sports groups easier access to sporting facilities, as well as providing community volunteers with an opportunity to lead the development of local sport and physical activity in the area. Ideas were discussed on how to make connections with other local groups, how to apply for funding and how to promote the range of activities available in our area.
The evening finished with a round-the-table discussion and brainstorming session. It was clear to me that we have a wealth of sporting and leisure experts in our community, all of whom have given their time over many years to benefit people of all ages. Westhill has a large population who use these facilities and a huge business community who could step up and work together to secure the future of the facilities in Westhill. Some people may visualise a sports “hub” as being one big building where everything happens under one roof; others may see a “hub” being the collective committees working with each other to oversee the diverse range of facilities we already have and make them work more efficiently.
I have no doubt that the expertise and enthusiasm already in place will take the facilities forward. Let’s hope that with the support of Aberdeenshire Council, more local people step forward to be part of that process as well to secure the future of sport and leisure in Westhill for all our residents.
