The South Lanarkshire SNP Group have blasted the Labour-led Council administration after they recommended the closure and sale of Red Deer Bowling Club and Westwood Community Hall in East Kilbride. Despite the best efforts of the SNP group, this proposal was lodged by the Labour group and supported by Labour and Lib Dem members.
Election material distributed in Ward 7 of East Kilbride – currently represented by Gerry Convery, Depute Leader of the Council and the Labour group – at the 2022 Council Elections specifically named both facilities and said “communities deserve to be listened to and heard… we cannot rest on our laurels and need to fight to keep these vital community facilities open… and ensure they are not sold off.”
In a Daily Record article around election time, currently-suspended Council Leader Joe Fagan, who also represents an East Kilbride ward, claimed that “Labour Councillors wanted a full, transparent, honest consultation with the public on the future of leisure and culture… It’s politicians who are ultimately accountable.”
Despite this, a Labour-chaired committee of South Lanarkshire Council decided last week to close and sell-off these facilities without further consultation. The vote was tied with 11 votes for and against the proposal. Chair of the committee, Labour’s David McLachlan cast the deciding vote in favour of the closure.
The SNP are urging Joe Fagan to step in when he returns from his suspension and throw a financial helpline from £13 million Leisure and Culture Transformation Fund which was established to help modernise the leisure and culture estate, to save some of these local facilities.
Speaking on behalf of the SNP group, Cllr Elaine McDougall, councillor for Westwood and the Murray areas said:
“As Joe Fagan has said publicly, it’s politicians that are accountable for these closures. East Kilbride was built on the principle of residents having close-by access to key amenities. The closures are a betrayal of East Kilbride residents and we in the SNP group categorically will not support them.
“As was revealed last week, Labour councillors fear a culture of bullying and intimidation in their group, with decisions made by proclamation from Fagan. We are unsure if Labour members were even aware of the contents of paper before they were ordered to approve it.
“If Labour can’t stick up for their own election pledges made just last year, how can South Lanarkshire residents trust them to stick up for us?”
Westwood Community Council have organised a meeting in Westwood Community Hall on 28th September at 6pm, to which all local groups are invited. They intend to form a campaign to save these facilities.
Cllr Cal Johnston-Dempsey 