Dennistoun Community Council has submitted the below enquiry to the following people:
- Susan Deighan (Glasgow Life chief executive)
- Andrew Olney (Glasgow Life director of libraries, sport and communities)
- Jan Buchanan (Glasgow Life director of finance and corporate services)
- Bailie Annette Christie (Glasgow Life chair and SNP councillor for East Centre ward)
- Cllr Allan Casey (SNP councillor for Dennistoun ward)
- Bailie Anthony Carroll (Scottish Green councillor for Dennistoun ward)
- Cllr Elaine McDougall (Labour councillor for Dennistoun ward)
- Ivan McKee (SNP MSP for Glasgow Provan constituency)
- Maureen Burke (Labour MP for Glasgow North East constituency).
Responses received will be added to the comments section following this post.
At virtually every Dennistoun Community Council meeting, for the past few years now, there has been a clearly evident high level of concern and strong feeling felt by the community in and around Dennistoun regarding the provision of local facilities and amenities.
The lack of communication and engagement by Glasgow Life regarding the status of Whitehill Pool in particular is leading to confusion, speculation and palpable anger.
In January 2019, reported plans for closure of the pool resulted in DCCs most well-attended ordinary meeting, with Dennistoun Library unable to physically accommodate the vast number of people who wished to attend.
Nine days later, in response to this unprecedented strength of feeling, DCC hosted a special public meeting specifically to discuss the matter. More than 250 community members attended to take part in a powerful, emotional and positive discussion. Those present voted for the Save Whitehill Pool group to lead the campaign from that point forward. DCC has supported its efforts, and Whitehill Pool has been raised for discussion at almost every meeting since.
Since 2019, there have been a series of promises, investigations, surveys and reports and funding announcements. Covid caused setbacks, but after over one year of closure the pool was able to reopen in May 2021, albeit with significantly reduced opening hours, which never recovered to pre-covid levels before the discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) resulted in indefinite closure.
As of today, the pool remains closed, with no published plan for reopening in the foreseeable future, or any identified plan for the long term security of the facility.
The effects of this closure are particularly stark when understood in the context of the findings of the GCC Liveable Neighbourhood report on our area. The report formally identified a lack of high-quality public and green spaces, underutilised open spaces, an inadequate number of play areas, a fragmented active travel route network, and a lack of connectivity links with nearby areas.
Dennistoun Community Council therefore asks what measures you will be taking in the coming days, weeks and months to ensure that Whitehill Pool is reopened and available for use by the community at the absolute earliest opportunity, and that relevant resources are available to ensure the long term future of the venue is secured.
Further details: dennistouncc.org.uk/tag/whitehill-pool and facebook.com/SaveWhitehillPool.
