Clubs hit by rise in fees for school sports halls

Published on Monday 16 February 2009 09:21

COUNCIL plans to levy an extra 25 per cent charge on community use of school sports facilities have come under fire.

The charges, due to take effect on April 1, will affect all school swimming pools, games halls and playing pitches hired out for public use and represent an inflation-busting rise.

Adult charges for weekday use of school pools is set to go up from 25 an hour to 32.50, and Sunday access set to increase from 50.50 an hour to 65.65. And adult use of cricket and athletics fields on Sundays will increase to 77.16 from 59.35, while football, rugby and hockey pitches will go up to 57.72, from 44.40.

The changes will leave some already cash-strapped sports groups struggling to survive.

Leith ASC, which holds swimming classes at Leith Academy every Sunday, will now have to pay 130.30 for the two-hour session.

Club secretary Shirley White said: "It's a bit steep and we're only just surviving at the moment. We've had to resort to bag packing to keep the club above water. We only use Leith Academy on a Sunday, and the rest of the time we're at Victoria Baths, which is already about 70 an hour."

Swimming clubs will be put under even more pressure for space in the summer with the closure of the Royal Commonwealth Pool.

Swimming clubs that use the pool have already been promised access to Leith Academy and Braidburn Special School, but their rates will still be set by Edinburgh Leisure and won't be affected by the new council changes.

Laura Law, whose 1930 ASC also uses Leith Academy Pool, added: "We've already sorted out our membership fees for the year so we won't be able to get any money back from the swimmers. Luckily, we've got a little bit of money in the bank."

Lubna Kerr, a pharmacist who organise matches for Danderhall Badminton Club at Trinity High School, said they had no choice but to pay the increased fees or withdraw from competitions.

She said: "As a health professional I'm all too aware that Scotland is the second fattest country in the world, and these increased charges will only discourage people from using the facilities."

Andrew Burns, leader of the council's Labour group, said his party "vehemently opposed" the price rises during their budget negotiations.

He added: "It's completely unacceptable. The council have calculated that this will bring in an extra 319,000 but it will be at the expense of the already cash-strapped organisations that use these facilities."

A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: "Although our charges have increased, they are still heavily subsidised by the Council.

"It is important that we cover some of the costs of running the facilities which have increased because of rising energy costs and inflation over the years. They still offer value for money and we still offer over 50 per cent in discount to youth groups."