Citadel refurb cost rises as councillors clash over 'family friendly' jibe
dailyrecord.co.ukThe long-running saga of a new £52m Ayr Leisure Centre was brought to a conclusion yesterday after the tightest of votes.The affordability of the new centre was cited as future plans were debated by South Ayrshire Council.However, it was also revealed that, like the new centre, the cost of refurbishing the Citadel leisure centre had risen significantly to just under £27m.All ten Conservative and four independent councillors voted to cancel the project, including both of those who had been backers of the centre as part of the previous administration – Cllrs Alec Clark and Brian Connolly.The nine SNP and five Labour members voted against the cancellation, resulting in a tie at 14 apiece.This meant Provost Iain Campbell had the casting vote, which he made in favour of cancellation.Council rules meant that, despite coming to power in May, the Conservative administration had to wait six months from the last budget to fulfil its manifesto pledge.The move was heavily criticised by opposition parties.SNP Councillor William Grant said the Citadel was ‘well past its sell by date’ and asked council leader Martin Dowey for more detail around the proposed ‘mixed development’.The Conservative leader would only reply that it would be housing and other developments.Labour Cllr Philip Saxton brought up the absence of any mention of the Citadel in the paper, describing it as ‘not very transparent’.He said: “We know there was a manifesto commitment of £10m to refurbish the Citadel.
Refurbishment is now £26.7m.”Cllr Saxton continued by asking why there was no reference to the refurbishment project.Cllr Dowey responded: “This paper is about the leisure centre, it is not about Conservative manifesto.
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