Glasgow residents in fight for future of Drumchapel Swimming Pool

Residents in Drumchapel are demanding a cash injection from Glasgow Life ahead of anticipated budget cuts next year. 

Locals fear that council officials will decide to permanently close the doors of their Glasgow Club venue due to increasing repair costs. 

Now, in an attempt to be proactive, members of the community have called for a meeting with the organisation in their pleas for investment. 

Andrew Lynch, chairman of Drumchapel Community Council, said: “There will be another round of cuts coming up through this new budget.

“They will be looking at buildings that will be costing them too much money in their opinion. 

“We think that they will consider closing Drumchapel Swimming Pool as there has been a lot of money spent on it over the years to make it viable.  

“The council will be looking at facilities that will be costing them in their repair budget and Drumchapel Swimming Pool has already been in the category of buildings earmarked for closure.”

In 2019, the Drumry Road East venue narrowly avoided closure after leaked documents suggested the facility would shut down as part of cost-cutting measures.

Locals launched an online petition which rapidly received more than 2000 signatures in just one week. It was later confirmed that the pool would not be included in that year’s budget plan.

While the building remains open to members of the public, the group says that repairs are “not visible to users”. 

Work carried out in the last three years - costing "hundreds of thousands of pounds" - includes plant room repairs and maintenance to the building's roof and boilers. 

Mr Lynch said: “The repairs themselves are not visible at the pool – all three pools work and seem fine. The issues are not visible to the users. 

“It’ll be an easy decision for them to close it if it’s high on their repairs bill. They’d let it fall into a state of disrepair before finally closing it.”

In the last 15 years, the area has seen services such as the Drumchapel Adventure Group (DRAG), the Waverley Neighbourhood Centre, the Linwood Tenants Hall, the Argo Centre and the Unemployed Workers Centre either shut down or relocated. 

The Glasgow Times understands a meeting will be held on Wednesday where the group will put pressure on Glasgow Life to invest in the facility or commit to building a new pool. 

Mr Lynch added: “If the repairs are excessive like they say they are then the facility needs cash. 

“You don’t close a swimming pool in one of the poorest areas in Scotland. That is against the grain. For politicians to vote on that, they should hang their heads in shame.  

“We know it’ll be up for consideration in the budget cut but we want to know why our community continues to be blighted of its essential services. Why are they hammering the poorest in the country and coming back for more?  

“We will fight to save the pool and Drumchapel will hold the biggest campaign the area has ever seen to keep this facility if it is earmarked for closure again. 

“We have had enough of cutbacks and we have had enough of closures. It isn’t a matter of what are they giving the poor, it is a matter of when will they stop taking away from the poor.” 

Local Labour representative, Cllr Paul Carey admitted he is worried over there being “no long-term guarantee” over the future of the facility. 

He said: “It worries me that back then, they would not give a long-term guarantee for the future of Drumchapel Pool. 

“How can people trust them when they say they have no plans to close the facility, yet they don’t have any plans to reinvest in it or build a replacement swimming pool? In other words, there is no plan B.

“The constituents of ward 14 will not accept the closure of the swimming pool.

“It is incredible to think that Glasgow Life is yet again not willing to invest in an area that has is one of the most deprived in Europe.

“The message is quite straightforward - put investment into the pool or build a new one because the people will not accept it closing.”

Glasgow Life said that in order to deliver a balanced budget, it will be asked to examine "difficult options" to help council officials make decisions on cuts. 

A spokesperson said: “In line with Glasgow City Council’s usual budget setting procedures, Councillors will have to deliver a balanced budget for the city and Glasgow Life will be asked to submit proposals that help them make those decisions. 

"The process always means examining difficult options because no one wants to reduce services but we can’t make any required savings otherwise.

“We have invested in hundreds of thousands of pounds in repair and refurbishment works to Drumchapel Pool in the last three years, including customer-facing areas such as a new reception and lockers, as well as new lighting. 

"Other work includes plant room repairs and work to the building’s roof and boilers. While these latter improvements aren’t necessarily seen by users and customers, they are essential to the ongoing safe operation of the venue.”