Cllrs Merrick, Devlin, O'Kane and Grant.

Members on the Board of the Leisure Trust.

The Leisure Trust is meant to be an arms length organisation, an ALEO, which was established in order to save ERC loads of money.

The current item on the council agenda is the proposal to build an Olympic size swimming pool within a new build complex.

There has been an alleged public consultation and at present both the council and councillors are stating they have made no decision on the future of the current Leisure Centre at Eastwood.

Whether it will be refurbished, demolished and re built or a completely new build on a new site.

When the Chief Executive of the Trust came out during the consultation and publicly stated that the Trust had come out fully behind a new build at a new location.

This was questioned by some and the Chief Executive, Anthony McReavy said that although that was the view of the trust, the decision was down to the council.

A resident asked him why the Trust had come to that decision, and the following is his letter of reply.

"Therefore we support Option Four. However as I noted earlier, all decisions will rest with the council".

"Therefore we support Option Four".

Have these four Cllrs not removed their impartiality and come out in support of a new build?

The council is yet to be presented with a report into the viability of these four options.

Surely to be involved in a debate and subsequent voting in the council chamber is a conflict of interest, is it not?

In addition to what we would describe as a 'Brazen conflict of interest' at least two of these four elected members appear to be contradicting themselves.

Barbara Grant said in the council chamber that she was against building on Shawwood, which is one of the proposed sites up for consideration. She has also apparently come out and said she is against building on any green space, yet all of the proposed sites are on green space.

She appears to support a new build, and was fully aware during the consultation the proposed sites were all on green belt.

Is she saying one thing in the smoke filled corridors of power, and another thing for public consumption?



Cllr Barbara Grant Newton Mearns