Leisure and Culture Services must be supported

This week Dundee City Council considered a report on Leisure and Culture Dundee's Performance and Impact.  The report set out the difficulties which Leisure and Culture Dundee faces largely as a result of the pandemic.  

There were eye-watering falls in visits to services last year, for example a 97% fall in library visits, a fall of 91% in museum visits, 76% fall in hall and venue visits, a fall of 85% in visits to leisure and sports.  Overall there was a fall of 89% in visits to Leisure and Culture Dundee facilities.

Leisure and Culture Dundee is hugely important to the future of our city.  Leisure and Culture Dundee has to be at the heart of our bid to become UK City of Culture along with the rest of the Tay Cities region.

 

There is no doubt that the pandemic has impacted on Leisure and Culture.  We have a duty to ensure that we do all that we can to let Leisure and Culture build back.

It would not be fair to Leisure and Culture Dundee or indeed to the citizens of Dundee to expect the declines in personal attendance set out in the report to be turned around without assistance.

It is clear that some people will return to their old habits quickly but that others will be more reticent.

We need to remember that Leisure and Culture Dundee deliver the services which Dundee City Council asks them to deliver.  If Leisure and Culture Dundee was not there, then the responsibility would fall to the council.  For that reason, we need to be realistic about what is required to assist Leisure and Culture.  Hoping for the best will not work that is why we need the report which sets out to the council what it needs to do to support leisure and sport facilities, cultural and heritage services in Dundee. Thankfully, the council agreed with the Labour Group and agreed that a report was needed on how Leisure and Culture Dundee will recover.