Aberdeenshire residents have been assured that the council will not close any swimming pools or libraries as bosses scramble to make ends meet.
The local authority has to plug a £67 million gap, meaning some “tough decisions”, will need to be made in the weeks to come…
Council leader Gillian Owen made a stark warning that “everything is on the table”.
But in an exclusive interview with the Press and Journal ahead of the budget setting process, decision-makers promised to protect pools and libraries.
The vow may come as a relief to north-east residents left fearing the worst after a budget bloodbath last year put paid to six libraries and two pools in Aberdeen.
Spotlight on Aberdeenshire’s leisure spending as cuts loom
Arms-length body Live Life Aberdeenshire oversees the region’s leisure offering – which includes libraries, pools, museums and sports facilities.
It employs 338 members of staff to ensure everything runs smoothly.
But the price of running these buildings, amid soaring power bills that have forced many businesses to close, is a concern.
In a council survey held late last year, more than half of participants put leisure in their top five most important services.
But is anything at risk as the difficult budget looms?
Will it be sink or swim for the region’s pools?
Aberdeenshire Council operates 13 indoor swimming pools across the region, along with the extremely popular Stonehaven Open Air Pool.
It also looks after 14 leisure and sports centres, 36 sports pavilions as well as eight full-size synthetic pitches.
But just one mid-sized swimming pool costs the local authority around £450k to run per year.
And communities committee chairwoman Anne Stirling admitted that there has been a drop in the number of people using them.
She said: “People are not using swimming pools the same way that they did, so footfall has gone down.”
And last summer, fears were raised that a reduction in opening hours at Ellon and Westhill could be the “path to closure”.
Ellon’s Janet Campbell said the town’s pool had become a “lifeline” for her since the death of her husband, while Jill Leslie and her partner Megan Davidson told us they use the Westhill pool every week with their five children.
However, the councillor in charge made it clear that the council won’t consider closing any.
“We have to look at everything but there is no agenda to go to closures,” she stated.
So what is the council doing to keep pools financially afloat?
Rather than mothballing them, local leaders are now looking at ways to increase usage.
Turriff Kayak Club meets every week at the town’s pool for training, for instance.
And other organisations and clubs are now being urged to follow suit.
Ms Stirling said: “We need to get people through the doors to use our facilities, not just for swimming.
“We would like to work with communities to determine what their leisure offering should look like going forward.”
Will library services take a hit?
In its brutal budget last March, Aberdeen City Council announced it was closing six libraries.
The decision caused huge uproar across the city, while crime author Stuart MacBride feared it would “impoverish chunks of Aberdeen”.
Aberdeenshire Council has 34 library buildings in its massive estate portfolio.
But is the drastic action seen in the city something that would be considered in the Shire to cut costs?
“We don’t have a closure agenda, we have a modernisation agenda,” Ms Stirling stressed.
“We are looking to extend the availability of the library service rather than restrict it.”
Under this programme, the council will look to move services from a more traditional library setting to another suitable site.
For example, the “well past its sell-by date” library cabin in Newtonhill was closed and relocated to the Bettridge Centre.
This has resulted in the library being open for longer.
The same thing has been done in Mintlaw with the library now available in the MACBI Community Hub.
Aberchirder Library has since closed too – but the service has moved to the village primary school.
Meanwhile, Ellon Library will move into the council’s new £11.4 million “civic hub” on the site of the old academy once it’s completed next year.
Ms Stirling added: “There are discussions ongoing with other communities about buildings that are used for library provision that might be better used for other things.”
But libraries are not just for books as they are the venue for various groups and events such as knit and natter, Bookbug and Lego clubs.
Will anything happen to community centres or halls?
Aberdeenshire Council is responsible for 35 community centres and town halls across the region.
However, it actively keeps an eye on how regularly these buildings are used as well as their condition.
And while savings from pool and library closures have been ruled out, this could be an area where some cash can be recouped.
If demand falls drastically the council may take the decision to declare a building surplus to requirements.
If this happens, the facility would be closed for good, which would lead to savings from operating and staff costs.
A paper recently went before the communities committee listing a number of buildings that are expected to be deemed surplus in the near future.
These include Blackhills Hall, Macduff Town Hall, Leslie Hall and Lumphanan Hall.
Ms Stirling bluntly told us: “We will not retain assets that we no longer need and are not fit for purpose.”
Multi-million pound Macduff and Peterhead projects on track
Last year, Aberdeenshire Council secured a £20m UK Government Levelling Up grant.
The cash will be used to transform two much-loved attractions along the coast.
First up, the Macduff Marine Aquarium will be extended to include a restaurant and outdoor decking for visitors to take in the stunning sea view.
Meanwhile, the disused Arbuthnot House in Peterhead will be converted into a museum, library and cultural hub.
The historic Broad Street building would house the region’s extensive heritage collections and artwork.
But will these projects still go-ahead?
Ms Stirling said that both are currently “progressing” and won’t fall victim to cuts.
Share your views with Aberdeenshire Council
Before any final decisions are made on the budget setting exercise, the local authority wants to hear the views of its residents.
What leisure services matter the most to you and do you think savings could be made elsewhere?
Click here to access the budget engagement survey and share your thoughts and ideas.
You can also access the survey by scanning the QR code below:
This is the latest article in our spotlight series focused on Aberdeenshire Council’s upcoming 2024 budget.
You can read more about education and winter maintenance below:
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