Murdo has welcomed a dramatic U-turn by Perth and Kinross Council after it was announced that the plan for a new sports facility in Perth will now include ‘ice provision.’
This follows pressure from local residents, the Scottish Conservatives and former Olympic gold medallist, Perth-born Eve Muirhead.
The council still want to push ahead with their proposal to close Dewars ice rink, Perth Leisure Pool and the Bell’s Sports Centre to make way for a new sports centre to be built in Perth. Their original plan did not include an ice rink and this led to a massive backlash, with MSPs Murdo Fraser and Liz Smith sending a joint letter to the Leader of Perth and Kinross Council, Councillor Grant Laing, to express their concerns about the implications of this move.
However, Councillor Laing announced he has asked Council officers to prepare a report looking at retaining ice facilities within the PH2O project, the proposed new single-site sports centre in Perth.
Commenting, Murdo said: “This is a welcome U-turn from the SNP leadership on Perth and Kinross Council, following substantial opposition from the public and the Scottish Conservatives. Just a pity that so much avoidable distress was caused by the original plan. And it still means the Council still intend on closing Dewars ice rink, thus ending a long, historic legacy with curling at that site.
“The Council will need to ensure that the new ice rink they plan to build as part of the PH2O project is on a par with the one at Dewars ice rink.”
