Possible Garioch sports centre closure

[ewen]

This is very worrying. I read this in the P & J Wed the 18th page 21 under public notice.

On 5 March 2009 a petition was presented to Aberdeen Sheriff Court by the Aberdeen General for Scotland for and on behalf of the Commissioners for Her Majesty Revenue and Customs craving the Court inter alia to order that Garioch Sports Ltd, Strathburn Park, Burghmuir Drive, Inverurie. Aberdeenshire AB51 4GY (REGISTERED OFFICE) BE WOUND UP BY THE COURT AND TO APPOINT A LIQUIDATOR. All parties claiming an interest may loge Answers with Aberdeen Sheriff Court Castle Street Aberdeen within 8 days of intimation, service and advertisement.

I hope the Garioch Sports centre can be saved from closure.

[topher]

Indeed very worrying, the council will be stupid to let the centre close, especially in light of a recent review which said that the sports facilities in Aberdeenshire need to be greatly improved / increased to meet the requirements of the 21st century...

Major review of sports and leisure provision in Aberdeenshire announced17th March 2009
Aberdeenshire Council is to look at a variety of ways to deliver sports and leisure services fit for the 21st century.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the full Aberdeenshire Council on Thursday, March 12, following a detailed investigation by the Scrutiny and Audit Committee.

The investigation, which was carried out between May and July 2008, compared the provision of facilities and costs within Aberdeenshire with those of other Scottish rural authorities.

The Committee heard evidence from Council staff and external witnesses, as well as site visits to a range of sports and leisure facilities in Aberdeenshire, Stirling and Glasgow.

The Committee found that the current provision for sports and leisure in Aberdeenshire is inadequate and that significant investment will be required in the coming years in order to meet the demands of the area’s growing population.

The Committee made a number of suggestions for future provision including examining the potential for a Trust or Trusts to be set up to deliver future leisure and sports services, the introduction of a leisure access card and looking at better partnership working to share resources.

Cllr Peter Bellarby, Chairman of the Scrutiny and Audit Committee, said: “The Committee wanted to see what other local authorities were doing with their sports facilities, particularly concentrating on the number of facilities, quality and sustainability. Of course, we had to also consider the costs involved and compare Aberdeenshire with other local rural authorities.

“It is fair to say that, despite the excellent work of staff and some very good initiatives, the standards in Aberdeenshire facilities are simply not up to the standard that we would like.

“What we were able to see by talking to other local authorities and visiting their facilities is that there are some significant advantages of transferring to a Trust – many of the facilities we saw elsewhere were outstanding. They are able to make use of charitable status, there are savings on rates and VAT and they are able to make decisions quickly. All this means that there is more money to spend on the facilities, making the service for the customer much better.

”This should be one of the options which is investigated to see if there are any benefits to Aberdeenshire of providing leisure facilities in the same way.”

There was unanimous support for the recommendations and a series of reports will now go before the Education, Learning and Leisure Committee as a business case is developed. Director for Education, Learning and Leisure Bruce Robertson said he was keen to maintain the momentum generated by the report.

“There is a great deal of work to do. We need to look at a number of options and engage with our employees and customers so any recommendations we bring forward will deliver a solution that meets a range of needs.

“We are also keen to explore all opportunities with neighbouring authorities and partners to see how we can provide maximum benefit to customers by working together.”

A further report will be discussed by the Education, Learning and Leisure Committee in March.

[keiran]

Thanks for posting that Ewen! I hadn't heard anything from them.

I'll try and get through to them tomorrow and see if they can fill us in.

[topher]

(19-03-2009 09:34 PM)keiran Wrote:  Thanks for posting that Ewen! I hadn't heard anything from them.

I'll try and get through to them tomorrow and see if they can fill us in.

Keiran, if they fill you in, dont worry, we will go get them for you!

[topher]

Fear not fellow racers, the Sports Centre is going nowhere. I have a friend who knows a man whos sisters brothers cousin next doors neighbours ex gay lover is involved with the centre

It was an admin error that resulted in a tax bill not being paid on time, bill is now paid, centre is safe, winter racing shall continue!

Apparently the centre has a good financial outlook and has plans to expand rather than shutdown.

Regards

Chris

[Gareth]

Wow that sounds like a reliable source

Good to hear we r not going to have to look for a new place to race though

[topher]

(22-03-2009 09:39 PM)Gareth Wrote:  Wow that sounds like a reliable source

Ah yes Gareth, never underestimate the power of Chinese Whispers!

[George Haining]

See the accountant has gone walk about and now the books are being checked.

Source Evening Express