Report recommends closure of Bo'ness Recreation Centre 'as soon as possible' following condition survey

An independent survey undertaken as part of the local authority’s Strategic Property Review has rated the condition of the leisure centre as ‘Category D (Bad)’ and identifies urgent repair needs with estimated costs exceeding £4 million.

The centre is one of the properties in the council’s estate with the worst rating possible.

The detailed condition survey identified urgent repairs including rewiring and electrical installations, new boilers and addressing structural issues. It stated that the centre would require to be closed or partially closed for a significant time to allow for asbestos to be removed safely while the works were ongoing.

The report, which will go before councillors next Wednesday, stated that surveyors had identified corroded electrical wiring and cracks to the pool wall which could fail at any time, as well as issues with the boilers, lighting and heating plant. It said the roof is also in a very poor condition.

Councillors will also hear that the carbon emissions generated by the recreation centre, which opened in 1976, represent three per cent of the council’s overall carbon footprint generated.

In the report, council officials are putting forward that £3 million of funding should be invested in ‘community access to sport and leisure facilities at secondary schools’ in the Falkirk Council area, including Bo’ness Academy. It is suggested the additional funding could provide an extension to the school to accommodate new facilities to meet the local demand.

Malcolm Bennie, the council’s director of place services, said: “The independent survey shows the Bo’ness Rec has reached the end of its life and there is a serious risk of imminent failure. That failure could present a future risk of injury to users and employees at the building.

"To rectify the issues would require an initial investment of more than £4m, and the centre would need to close or partially close to allow the works to take place.

"At the end of that residents would hardly notice any difference because the money will go on things like wiring, new boilers and repairs to the pool tank. The centre would still be unsuitable for the demands of modern leisure and sports use, and the council would need to find more than £400,000 a year to fund the investment.

"Officers are recommending that spending on this scale does not represent good value for money, and that the council should close the building as soon as possible.

"Alternative investment in the school estate could offer new benefits to residents in Bo’ness and the rest of Falkirk.

"It is now up to elected members to consider the information before them and decide on the best way forward for Bo’ness and the wider Falkirk area.”

News of the survey and the recommendation from council officials will come as a blow to townsfolk who have been campaigning to save the leisure centre, which includes a 25m swimming pool, rugby pitches gym and social club among its facilities.

Campaigners had been delighted in December when councillors had agreed to move the Recreation Centre into phase three of the Strategic Property Review, meaning it wouldn’t have to close by April 1, 2025 as previously agreed.

However with the report which will go before the meeting on Wednesday, if councillors agree the officers’ recommendations, the council would progress with the closure of the centre in light of the new condition survey “as originally planned”.