Go back to the drawing board on the future of TRACC, Highland Council warned

Opposition to Tain losing its only swimming pool is growing as the SNP-led administration at Highland Council is urged to “go back to the drawing board” or risk letting down a generation of young people in the Easter Ross community.

Connie Ramsay, a Commonwealth Games medallist and local Lib Dem by-election candidate for Tain and Easter Ross, and her party’s Holyrood candidate, David Green, have joined campaigners in demanding Highland Council ensure the Easter Ross community doesn’t lose its swimming pool.

The only local swimming pool in Tain is at risk of closure amidst a SNP-Independent-led Highland Council review of the future of the Tain Royal Academy Community Complex. All options put forward for the future of the facility - including the gym and fitness classes - have essentially been rejected by the public

In a letter to the Scottish Government’s Education Secretary, the Highland Liberal Democrats are also calling for a statutory requirement on local authorities in Scotland to ensure all pupils are taught to swim.

A statutory requirement in England means that by the end of primary school, pupils should be able to swim at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively, and perform safe self-rescue. In Scotland, that is not the case.

Local MP Jamie Stone has already added his voice to the campaign by urging the Scottish Government to find the money to support these projects following reports Highland Council advised a stakeholder meeting that there is no funding in place to replace the pool.

The Easter Ross MP highlighted figures by Scottish Swimming which show there are 295 public swimming pools in Scotland, with 122 pools over 38 years old. As the average lifespan of a pool is 38 years old, Scotland could have a net loss of over 150 pools by 2040.

Connie Ramsay, Highland Liberal Democrat candidate for the Tain and Easter Ross by-election, said:

“As someone who has spent my life in sport, I know just how important access to facilities like this is - not just for competitive athletes, but for the health and wellbeing of all generations.

“If this pool and facilities close, we’re not just losing a community hub - we’re denying the next generation the chance to learn something in swimming that could one day save their life. That is completely unacceptable.

“The Highland Council needs to listen to what people are saying loud and clear: none of the options they have put on the table work. They must go back to the drawing board and work alongside the community, as I am committed to doing, to deliver a plan that works.”

David Green, Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate for Caithness, Sutherland & Ross, added:

“As one concerned parent in Inver put it to me, ensuring young people can learn to swim isn’t a choice. When you live as close to the water as they do, it is essential for their children’s safety.

“Like many, I learnt to swim at a local leisure centre. If these plans are allowed to go ahead, a whole generation of young people will not be able to say the same. They deserve so much better; everyone who uses the facilities does.

“That is why I am clear in the view that there should be a statutory requirement on local authorities in Scotland to ensure all pupils are taught to swim. If there was, as there is in England, it is fair to say we wouldn’t be seeing this mess.

“The community has been clear they don’t agree with any of the options that were consulted on and they wish the local facility to remain open. Officials should therefore go back to the drawing board and work with the Scottish Government to find a way forward.”

ENDS.