Campaigners fighting the closure of an Aberdeen swimming pool gathered outside the city’s SNP hustings today.
Leadership hopefuls Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan attended an event at the Tivoli Theatre ahead of votes among members opening tomorrow.
As they arrived, they were met by protesters young and old fighting to save Bucksburn Swimming Pool – one of two pools in the city due to shut next month as a result of city council budget cuts.
Carrying placards and chanting, the group hope their efforts have highlighted how important the facilities are to national decision-makers.
Among them was pensioner Dave Harding, who fears the closure of the pool will be the “death knell” for him.
The 73-year-old is facing a two-hour bus journey from his home in Dyce to the nearest pool – with swimming the only exercise he can do due to his back problems.
Getting teary eyed, he added: “It’s a death knell for me. I can’t walk, I can’t do any other exercise and the NHS won’t fix my back and if I don’t swim that’s it – I’ll be in a wheelchair.
“I’m 73, where am I going to go? It’s going to take me two hours on the bus to get to a pool.”
Protestors ‘making a lot of noise’ in parliament
The impromptu rally was organised by mother-of-two Kirsty Fraser, who managed to speak to Mr Yousaf.
Mrs Fraser said afterwards she had warned him “children are going to drown” if cuts to swimming pools across the country are allowed to continue.
She added: “He said that it is very much known by the MSPs there’s a lot of noise going on about it just now and they’re all very aware of it.
“At least it’s on their radar so it’s a start.”
Speaking about the city council’s decision to cut £700,000 support for Sport Aberdeen, she added: “They know exactly how many people they’ll be taking this completely essential service away from, including people with additional support needs and disabilities.
“They’re not putting the people of Aberdeen first in any of the decisions that they’re making and we’re sick of being the victims of all of these decisions.
“We’ve had enough and we’re just standing up now saying ‘No this is now your step too far’.”
‘If we fight we can stop it’
Drivers tooted their horns as they went past the group, spurring on the effort.
More than 7,000 people have signed a petition to save the pool and a packed public meeting was held too.
Mum-of-three Sandra Cassie, from Bucksburn, said it was important people were aware of the issue and supported them in it.
She said: “Four generations would have used that pool in my family.
“My children all went to swimming lessons there, my son still goes to the pool every week.
“I just think if we fight we can stop it. Even just the people here are going to go away and speak about it. Hopefully they’ll embrace it because they’ll think ‘it could be us next.’
“Because it will affect them as well, their pool budgets are going to be eventually be cut down.”
As the cost of swimming pools has soared – tripling in the past two years – experts are warning many children might miss out on lessons.
According to Scottish Swimming figures, four in 10 children leave primary school unable to swim – in a country that already has the highest rate of accidental drowning in the UK.
As budgets are cut and costs rise, members of Community Leisure Scotland have warned half of community pools will face service reduction or possible closure in the next six months.
Getting rid of community lifeline
However, unlike other closures, Bucksburn Community Pool is still a very busy facility, with more than 900 kids learning to swim there every week, and early morning queues to get in.
Mark Brown, president of Amateur Swimming Club, said he was “amazed” by the closure.
“Taking the pool out of Aberdeen just hurts everyone,” he said. “It’s the only pool in Aberdeen with a low entry access for disabled people.”
Orla Birnie, aged 10, and her eight-year-old brother Owen said they were “very sad” about the announcement and said they believe everyone should be able to learn how to swim.
Standing with her handmade banner, Orla said: “It’s a life skill that everybody would need to know and if they don’t learn how to do it then it’s gonna to affect them quite a lot.”
Their dad Mark Birnie, 43, believes there’s such outrage because of the history of the pool – with the community directly contributing to its opening years ago.
“It kind of feels like it’s our pool,” Mr Birnie said.
“When my dad who worked at Mugiemoss Paper Mill, everyone who worked there donated some of their ages to go towards the pool.
“It was decade-long fight to get the pool and then we’ve been given what two to three weeks? Just give us time to try and do something.”
‘SNP need to rethink’
Local councillor Barney Crockett attended the demonstration and said he was “quite stunned” at the closure.
“I don’t think there’s been anything as illogical in the time that I’ve been a councillor and I think that is going to come home to people,” the Labour councillor said.
“Then to even learn further about the pool and the role it plays in the city, it just makes you more and more wonder if people really understood what they were doing.
“I think the message is going to get through to SNP politicians and that they have to rethink and I hope that re-thinking is very quick.”
But the SNP finance convener Alex McLellan said: “The hypocrisy we are seeing from Aberdeen Labour, under the leadership of Councillor Crockett, is quiet astounding.
“Aberdeen Labour voted to reduce Sport Aberdeen’s budget by £687,000 – the same as the partnership budget – which has meant the Sport Aberdeen’s board have had to consider their options based on that reduction.
“I would go as far to say that Labour’s Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone councillors are trying to mislead the community given they too voted for the reduction in Sport Aberdeen funding. Councillors Crockett and Lawrence need to own up.
“We were faced with an incredibly difficult financial position, requiring us to save in the order of £46 million, and our partnership priority was to protect and invest in education and to mitigate against the cost-of-living crisis that is affecting everyone in our city.”
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