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At a meeting in January of this year, more than 200 people packed into the Academy to send a clear message to retain the centre, one of 133 buildings on a list for the chop in a cull by the council to save funds.

At the end of March, Independent councillor for Bo’ness and Blackness, Ann Ritchie, presented a petition to the council with more than 4000 people calling for the centre to be saved. Protests were also held outside the centre to show the strength of feeling locally.

Those at the protest said, with hundreds of new homes being built in the Bo’ness area over the next few years, it made no sense to close one of the few facilities in the town.

Residents in Bo'ness made their feelings clear during two protests at the recreation centre in March. It is hoped they will once again show their strength of feeling at the public meeting later this month.

However, it's a numbers game: Falkirk Council said the subsidy for the centre is more than £800,000 annually, something it could no longer afford with a funding gap of £64 million .

Its aim is for as many facilities as possible to be taken on by communities through a community asset transfer. The sheer size of Bo’ness Recreation Centre means this is something that even large, well organised groups think would be very difficult to achieve.

A public meeting has been organised in the town hall on Tuesday, November 28, at 7pm to give the community a chance to “discuss how we can prevent the destruction of our community services”.

With many clubs and classes relying on the centre to provide activities for all ages, it is hoped there will be a very strong turnout.

Meeting organised in bid to save Bo'ness Recreation Centre