Bucksburn pool cash call made as swimming petition hits Holyrood

MSPs will consider the plight of Bucksburn Swimming Pool as part of a national petition to keep facilities open.

The much-loved community pool closed its doors at the end of April after Sport Aberdeen was hit with a £700,000 funding cut.

The decisions were part of the city council’s budget, which aimed to plug a £47 million financial gap.

Holyrood’s public petitions committee will today consider a call to “recognise the value of swimming pools and provide financial relief to keep pools open”.

The national petition, by Helen Plank on behalf of Scottish Swimming, urges the Scottish Government to provide funding to keep these facilities open.

Community campaign

Thousands signed a separate petition to save Bucksburn pool from closure with the local community fighting hard to keep it open.

But the facility has been closed for almost two months after a last-ditch attempt to keep the pool open was unsuccessful.

In March, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a £63m fund to protect swimming pools south of the border from rising costs.

It was understood this could result in around £6m extra for Scotland.

Kirsty Fraser, local mum and Save Bucksburn Pool campaigner, said it’s only “right and fair” for funding to be given to save pools in Scotland.

She said: “Swimming pools are not a luxury and should be a basic human right for our children.”

‘Negative impact’

North East region MSP Tess White wrote to the committee, saying she is raising concerns shared by parents and clubs who used Bucksburn pool.

In her letter, she wrote: “No thought was given to the negative impact the decision to close the pool would have on the mental and physical health of the adults and children who accessed the facility.

“It was the only swimming pool in the city with a shallow stair entry for people with disabilities with the next closest swimming pool being two buses away.”

She later added: “The reality is that there is money available to help keep Scotland’s swimming pools open.

“The social, emotional, and health-related value of our swimming pools cannot be ignored, and I urge the Scottish Government to act to save facilities like Bucksburn swimming pool.”

Bucksburn Amateur Swimming used the facility for more than 25 years, while the additional support needs department at Bucksburn Academy used it twice a week.

More than 900 children used the pool every week.

A petition has been lodged with the Court of Session in Edinburgh for a judicial review of the city council’s decision to close Bucksburn Pool and Woodside Library.

Similar action could follow to reverse the fates of libraries in Cornhill, Cults, Ferryhill, Kaimhill and Northfield.

‘Consider additional support’

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government places great importance on swimming pools. They are crucial to the wellbeing of all our country and most importantly, for our children and young people to be healthy and active.

“The Scottish Government has increased the resources available to local government in 2023-24 by more than £793 million, a real terms increase of £376m or 3%, compared to the 2022-23 budget figures.

“While it is for local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, we will consider what additional support can be provided to swimming pools and the wider sport and leisure sector in Scotland.”

The UK Treasury were approached for comment.