Closures and job losses at Falkirk's leisure, culture and sport facilities

The Trust – which manages all of the council’s leisure, culture and sport facilities – has been badly affected financially by the pandemic as income from customers has been virtually non-existent since March.

It was due to present its business plan to Falkirk Council on Wednesday, but despite a vaccine being on its way, a worried Trust is projecting a loss of £4.4 million.

The huge losses the Trust has endured this year have been mitigated by the furlough scheme, which reduced the deficit to £1.3 million.

Trust bosses believe Covid-19 will continue to have an impact as social distancing measures stay in place and customers remain cautious about returning.

It will also have to consider a further £1 million of cuts the council has also asked it to make next year.

FCT chief executive Maureen Campbell reported: “A number of potential savings totalling £4.5m have been identified.

“However given the scale of the income shortfall it inevitably includes proposals that would see the Trust withdraw from a number of key venues and would include significant organisational change and consequent job losses.

In a report to Falkirk Council on Wednesday, the Trust says that to meet the gap it “has identified a number of savings options totalling £4.5m, but thisincludes proposals that would see the Trust withdraw from a number of keyvenues and include significant organisational change and job losses”.

Before considering any of the options in public, the Trust wants to have further discussions with the council, including the three political parties.

The Trust will also be affected by the council’s ongoing Strategic Property Review which aims to replace older buildings with newer facilities that cost less to run.

In some cases, that will mean leisure facilities moving into schools and communities losing venues, so the debate has been prolonged and fraught.

However, the result of the review is vital to the Trust’s financial future and they say they want to wait for the consultation before making financial decisions.

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