Sport centre campaigners claim petition was banned

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save a sports centre threatened with closure say they were banned from putting up a petition calling for it to be kept open.

A campaign has been set up by members of Kirkliston Community Council to save their local facility, after it was revealed last week that it is facing the axe.

But organisers of the campaign said that supervisors at the leisure centre wouldn't allow them to put the petition on display when they tried to on Thursday evening.

However, when the Evening News called bosses at Edinburgh Leisure yesterday, they confirmed there was no policy in place banning petitions and within just over an hour, organisers had been told the petition would be allowed.

Residents say the plan to close the facility would leave the area - which is about to dramatically grow in size with more than 600 homes planned - with no local facilities. They say that there is growing support for the village to be run by West Lothian Council instead.

Mark Elder, 37, a member of Kirkliston Community Council, which has organised the petition, said: "They have now accepted the petition, but not on the counter. It sits on a table at the side and the staff are not allowed to mention it."

The Evening News revealed earlier this week that campaigns have been launched to save Dalry Swim Centre and Crags Sports Centre - two of the other three facilities at risk.

Mr Elder, an IT project manager and father-of-three, said the petition had been set up because residents of Kirkliston feel they are being treated "like second-class citizens".

"I would not be surprised if Kirkliston residents begin to question whether they would be better served by a council that does not view them as a cash cow and is prepared to provide local facilities that represent value for their council tax payment."

The community council is trying to organise a meeting with Edinburgh Leisure to discuss how they can help keep the centre open. They say that they have retired members who would be willing to provide administrative, janitorial or reception work for free.

Parent-of-two Jen MacKay, 26, said that an after-school club on Fridays is popular with children and that the leisure centre also doubles up as a venue for children's parties, including those of her children Amee, five, and Jamie, four.

"I think there will be a lot less children involved in sport if this closes," she said.

"Nobody will come to Kirkliston if there's no facilities; all these new houses will lie empty."

Edinburgh Leisure said it does not have a policy that bans petitions at its centres. John Comiskey, acting chief executive, said: "Like any responsible employer, we need to make sure any petition is not inappropriate, inflammatory or illegal before allowing it in one of our facilities."

He added: "It's great to see the strength of feeling our customers and local communities have about the importance of our services. It is, however, premature to be talking of specific site closures given that no proposals or recommendations have yet been made."

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