Inverness Leisure in line for refurbishment after years of decline with £100k earmarked
Inverness Leisure is set for a major refurbishment in the near future amid hopes a programme of work will make it on to Highland Council’s capital plan for the nearly 30-year-old facility - with £100,000 set to be spent relatively soon.
Inverness West Councillor Alex Graham questioned if any work is due to be done on the centre with some major elements of the centre closed or otherwise in need of repair.
In September, we reported that Inverness Aquadome’s Vortex flume has been closed by Highland Council for more than 400 days and there is no sign of it reopening as it depends on capital funding. Then it emerged that the facility’s thistle-shaped outdoor swimming pool has been out-of-bounds even longer.
The facility is run by High Life Highland, on behalf of the council.
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Privately, some officials are hopeful that sums needed to invest in the centre will become available next year as the public is left scratching its head as to why this major feature of city life has been left to decay.
According to the Capital Monitoring Statement and Progress Update by the council, that £100,000 is due to be spent on the leisure centre but it is not yet clear on what as a survey must be completed first.
Cllr Graham asked the council: “With the Aquadome opening in 1997 a lot of time has passed so it needs a fair bit of attention so I would just ask if you would provide a bit of information about what is going to happen in terms of looking at what needs to be done?”
Finlay MacDonald, chief officer for property and assets, said that meetings are due to take place to schedule a survey to identify what parts of the leisure centre need work.
He added: “We have a meeting next week in terms of the work going forward, looking to align resources by what we need to deliver the programme - internal and external - so there is some assurance to the committee that work is currently ongoing.
“In regard to the Aquadome, that work has been programmed in for the last quarter of this financial year - what we will be doing is carrying out a full condition survey of the asset to identify a longer term maintenance programme, given the age of the facility.
“So that is something we will be carrying out as part of the process for other facilities as well but that one we will be targeting over the coming months to get the survey carried out to identify what is needed for refurbishment works in the future.”
