North Lanarkshire Council to close libraries, pools and sports centres

North Lanarkshire Council is closing 39 swimming pools, sports centres, libraries and community facilities to plug a budget shortfall.

It plans to shut facilities including the Matt Busby Sports Centre in Bellshill and the John Smith Pool in Airdrie to save £4.7m a year.

The Labour-run council says it needs to find £64m of savings over three years.

No dates have been given for the closures and affected staff are likely to be offered redeployment.

Council leader Jim Logue said making the decision was "overwhelmingly difficult".

He said: "The simple fact remains that the council just does not have the money to maintain all these facilities in a sustainable way.

"Our immediate priority is to engage with users to identify suitable alternative venues for activities and bookings where possible, while a phased closure is carried out.

"This will take some time, and we will update users of facilities throughout."

North Lanarkshire Council's policy and strategy committee voted to axe the facilities.

The council is set to close 12 of its Active NL leisure buildings.

The authority said it considered a range of criteria such as usage, condition and the money required in coming years for maintenance.

The leisure facilities that will close are:

Donna Collins, president of Bellshill Sharks swimming club, said the closures would leave just two pools left in the entire council area.

She told BBC Scotland's The Nine programme: "Our kids and adults train up to six days a week in the Sir Matt Busby Pool.

"The club is almost like a community in itself. The kids socialise with each other, as well as swim together.'

"It leaves us in a difficult situation. We'll need to find somewhere else to train. It's not going to be easy. It's a huge loss.

She added: "They need to think of the wider community and how much people rely on these places for mental and physical wellbeing.

"We are not going to give up hope, we are going to fight this.'

Six libraries and the council's mobile library service will also be axed as part of the cuts.

The libraries that will close are Abronhill, Viewpark, Moodiesburn, Stepps, Cleland and New Stevenston.

The review also identified 25 community facilities to close.

These are either used for less than 10 hours per week or are already set to be integrated into a new community hub.

North Lanarkshire Council said it would roll out a phased closure of venues over the next two years.

The announcement comes after, the Accounts Commission warned that Scotland's local authorities must radically change how they operate to maintain the services they offer.

BBC research found Scotland's councils faced a £700m funding gap in their budgets this year.

Mr Logue said the closures were a result of tighter budgets imposed on councils by the Scottish government.

He added: "For years we have warned that insufficient funding from the Scottish government will see local councils struggle to deliver services that are hugely valued by local people.

"The council needs to save £64m over the next three years and that means having to make quite painful decisions about community facilities, in order to protect services in the face of the most pressing budget cuts."

The Scottish government said it was is for councils to make decisions on the priorities for their areas and consider how facilities are used.

A spokesperson added: "While Scotland is facing the most challenging budget settlement since devolution due to ongoing UK Government austerity, this year North Lanarkshire Council will receive £779.7 million to fund local services - which equates to an extra £25.4 million on last year."

For many years councils have tried to find cuts and savings to try to balance their books. Often this meant so-called "stealth cuts" - things staff would notice but which might not be immediately obvious to the public.

But this is one of the clearest examples yet of a council making significant cuts which it knows are likely to be controversial and divisive. North Lanarkshire Council argues that some of the facilities facing closure are under-used or require substantial investment.

But closures on this scale will often lead to rows. Sometimes people may be saddened by the loss of a facility in their community even if they do not use it personally.

The planned closures touch on a broader theme though. Are councils across Scotland properly resourced? Do they need more government money or more power to raise money for themselves?

Councils are under a legal duty to produce balanced budgets. Opponents of the closures who do not want to look opportunistic will need to do more than condemn the plan. In time, they will also need to suggest other ways the council might balance its books.