The people of Bo’ness, users of the Bo’ness Recreation Centre and interested parties request an immediate postponement of the planned closure decision due on Friday 3rd May 2024, until a full accurate review and detailed plan are considered and presented.

*Please note, whereas it is appreciated, no further petition funding required.  These donations only buy petition views and we have more than enough so far bought ahead.  We don't have access to the money and we may need to raise funding for support in other more valuable forthcoming ways to challenge this circumstance*

It is unacceptable for a large town like Bo'ness to be left without any sporting and recreational facilities. This will have a hugely negative impact on well-being, health and social involvement within our community. Many social groups and clubs including the Bo’ness Rugby Club are under immediate threat.   Adequate provision must be considered in advance and decisions must be based on accurate information.

This closure was based upon only a draft survey report.  This was part of a wider Strategic Property Review across the district, where Falkirk Council (FC) have an intended aim to find cuts and savings for budgets that have wider spending arrangements.  This survey had then further subjectively been interpreted by an officer at FC to state the building was in an unfit condition and requires immediate closure, the recommendation supplied to councillors.   All previous reports by FC did not highlight these concerns at this scale and an immediate complete and full survey report should be presented to councillor’s for review and decision.  There is a clear risk that the report details include misunderstandings and subjective opinion that needs to be clarified.

The recommendation based on the draft survey was then presented last minute, for a council meeting on the 31st January 2024.  This pressured councillors with an exacerbated worst case scenario of funding requirements.  Clarification is also required on the scope of details supplied, after it was highlighted that key information from the Equality and Poverty Impact report had been removed in advance of the meeting. 

This overall approach, whether through intention or neglect, could have led councillors to make a significantly detrimental decision impacting a huge town and community, without accurate and complete information available for review.

We are also concerned that this could be interpreted as an example of where FC is not fairly funding the town of Bo’ness, particularly in light of the volume of recent years' house building, planning fees, increased council tax revenue and overall local government spend per household in the area. Bo'ness is set to be the fastest growing town in FC over the next 10 years.

A growing town requires further investment, not facilities removed, particularly when there are questions still to be answered on those decisions.