21/11/2008Garnock Pool: "It seems a heartless decision"
Sink or swim! K:A Leisure are again hitting the Garnock Valley headlines for all the wrong reasons, upsetting groups and individuals who regularly use the excellent facilities at Garnock Pool.
Established on April 1, 2000, as North Ayrshire Leisure this flagship company was tasked with running leisure and recreational facilities in North Ayrshire for local people and visitors to the area.
It adopted the trading name K:A Leisure Ltd, a non-profit making organisation recognised as a Scottish Charity. Their stated vision emblazoned on their web site is to: 'Provide opportunities for the local community and individuals to be more active, more often through access to facilities and delivering programmes for sport, entertainments, recreation, social activities and more'.
As a cost-cutting and general review of services exercise, K:A Leisure are currently looking to reduce the opening hours of Garnock Pool by 5.25 hours per week and it has been said, redeploy the two reception staff members manning their welcome desk. Strangely enough, only last year K:A Leisure installed a state of the art Welcome Desk at Garnock Pool at a cost said to be in excess of £15,000, clearly indicating the long-term value of reception staff in this facility. Whilst K:A Leisure have banned staff at Kilbirnie Pool from speaking to the press on this issue, it is believed that the two Reception staff members are earmarked to be redeployed rather than made redundant and soon to be replaced by an impersonal barrier ticketing system!
Several groups using Garnock Pool are up-in-arms at these planned changes, but their anger is also aimed at the total lack of local of communication and consultation from senior management at K:A's Irvine HQ. One regular user said: "I think the K:A Leisure high heid yins at Irvine haven't a clue about front line service provision. They are determined to cut 5.25 hours from Garnock Pool and without even the courtesy of talking to us. They plan to change the GP Referral class times from the current popular time of 10 am - 11 am, which suits everyone and attracts between 23 to 30 members every Tuesday and Friday.
"Their plan is to give this class the totally hopeless time of 12 noon until 1.00 pm. It really is annoying because most of those attending are grandparents and the 10 am slot fitted well as quite a few are involved in looking after grandchildren. The class members feel disappointed and let down by K:A Leisure, particularly as the existing classes were totally viable and really well supported."
Continuing in full flow, she said: "Accuse me of being cynical if you like, but I think changing the times of the GP Referral class without consultation and putting it to a time that is patently unsuitable, is a move which will definitely make the class less attractive to the wonderful band of local folk who attend at present, thus giving K:A Leisure the excuse they perhaps need to close it down."
Another class organiser said: "The Asthma Child Support Class has been running very successfully for years. The kids love it and gain so much from the pool exercises. We have a dozen children who attend every Saturday. However, we have been told that 'due to cutbacks' we will only be allowed a half hour slot which is really not enough time to give all the children the quality time to work out and have fun. The parents are very angry and the children deeply disappointed. It seems a heartless decision by an organisation with a remit to provide recreational and fitness facilities across the generations in North Ayrshire."
Pool users are now organising a public petition which will in due course be sent to K:A Leisure's Irvine HQ, and to North Ayrshire Council with the aim of persuading them not only of the need to retain the status-quo in terms of opening hours and staff coverage, but to look to increasing services to meet K:A's stated aspiration of "being more than just a sport."
Young mothers are also very concerned about alleged plans to permanently close down the small pool, apparently due to a lack of staff to supervise this area in tandem with the main pool. This means that mothers with babies or young children will no longer have the opportunity to enjoy a swim. One parent with a young child said: "At a key time in life when all children should be learning to swim, K:A Leisure are closing the small pool. It really is beyond belief and it must not be allowed to happen."
Another regular pool user, who suffered a stroke a number of years ago and is consequently disabled, said: "The Reception Staff at Garnock Pool are always helpful and they go out of their way to make class members and pool visitors very welcome and give us great encouragement. Without this front-of-house presence, I know I will be in some difficulty.
"There is also the issue of the security of the premises when this barrier and ticketing system is introduced. Unfortunately, due to my particular disability I would be unable to use such a system. Does that mean I am denied access to the pool? Importantly, I think people will disabilities will feel less secure without caring staff being available at the reception. I fear that taking staff away may well be the beginning of the end for our local swimming pool in the Garnock Valley."
Forecasting the eventual closure of Garnock Pool, he said: "This has all the hallmarks of death by cuts. Perhaps North Ayrshire Council were too quick to fob off Leisure Services without a guarantee that they would continue to meet the needs and aspirations of local folk, especially children with health issues and older folk referred by GP's. I really hope I'm wrong, but mark my word, these changes are likely to sound the death-knell for Garnock Pool. Isn't it rather strange that these cuts aren't happening elsewhere in North Ayrshire! Perhaps they are picking off the easy target first."
Julie Gallagher of K:A Leisure said: "The Company can confirm that, in response to the increase in energy costs, it is reviewing operations in a number of areas including opening hours at Garnock Swimming Pool, although only minor adjustments are anticipated. Information on changes will be advised to customers prior to them taking affect."