Falkirk Council: Labour motion proposes reduction in high school pool hire costs

Labour councillor Jack Redmond will lay the motion at Falkirk Council’s Executive meeting proposing to reduce the cost to £120 per hour instead of the £160 currently imposed.

A report going before councillors says that the council has created a strategy to increase prices for swimming and to make better use of the school pools to help cover costs – something the report suggests has been a success.

As part of the strategy, a standardised pricing structure is now in place across all council-run school pools.

However, Councillor Redmond has described the fee increases as “unsustainably high”.

Councillor Redmond said: “We listened to the swim schools who are working hard to provide young people across the district with high-quality, professional swimming lessons. They told us the fee increases were too much to bear.

“We are absolutely committed to Falkirk’s swimming provision, when others have so recently proposed the closure of four swimming pools.

“We recognise that fees do need to rise to make pools financially sustainable, but we also need to keep swim schools viable, so children don’t lose out.

"Back in January 2024, when Falkirk Labour's plan took closures off the table and agreed a way forward, we asked for a report back to Council on pool pricing.

“This move shows we are still listening to the challenges faced by swim schools and working together to deliver our shared ambition of high-quality, accessible swimming lessons for children.”

Members of the Executive will today discuss the strategy which was agreed last year and aims to generate additional income and reduce costs. The council officers’ report says the changes have seen a large rise in the council’s own swimming lesson programme.

The report also makes clear that priority use of the pools will be given to its own swimming classes and general public swimming, then amateur groups, and only then private classes.

Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank has endorsed his Councillor Redmond’s proposal to support private swimming providers.

He said: “Swimming was almost immediately under threat by Falkirk Council when we were elected in 2022. We worked hard in 2023 to convince colleagues to take closures off the table, in 2024 to support our elite swimming clubs with their fee structure, and now in 2025 we are still listening and acting. Falkirk Labour backs Falkirk’s young swimmers.”

The report on high school swimming pools will be discussed at the Falkirk Council’s Executive meeting at 10am on Thursday, August 21.