GLASGOW residents have staged a protest outside a Commonwealth Games venue this week, calling for funding to reopen their local pool.
Dozens of residents, alongside members of tenants’ and community union Living Rent, gathered outside Tollcross International Swimming Centre on Wednesday with music, banners and pool-themed props. The demonstration also highlighted the continued closure of Whitehill Pool.
The pool has been shut since 2023 after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was identified in the building, and remains closed indefinitely.
Annie Craig, a Dennistoun resident and Living Rent member, said: “My kids were promised the Commonwealth Games would give them a legacy. But since 2014, life in the East End has only got worse.
“More of our community facilities have been shut down or gone private. I’m sick to the back teeth of Glasgow City Council focusing on vanity projects like the millions spent on George Square, while we wait for funding for our local pool. Our children and all Dennistoun residents deserve better than this.”
Míša Zemachova, chair of Living Rent Dennistoun, said the protest exposed a wider disconnect between major sporting events and local communities.
She said: “These Games do not belong to the residents of Dennistoun. That is the contradiction we are living through this week: big headlines, sporting ceremonies and a city being told to feel proud, while communities like ours are losing the public facilities that make sport part of everyday life.
“Whitehill Pool should be part of the legacy Glasgow talks about when it hosts events like the Commonwealth Games. Every day it stays shut is a reminder that the legacy promised in 2014 has not been delivered for our community. How many more years are residents expected to wait before today’s promises become funding, building work and a reopened pool?”
Residents say the closure has made accessing swimming and other sports more difficult and expensive, with longer journeys, added transport costs and fewer accessible options.
Susan Carden, a Dennistoun resident and Living Rent member, said: “Glasgow will, as always, be a great host for an international sporting event. People will come here, see the city and celebrate sport. But it is shameful that Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council have still not found funding to resolve the pool issue and bring sport back to the Dennistoun community.
“Whitehill Pool brought sport into daily life. It served families, older residents, disabled swimmers and local clubs. Since it closed, many people have had to travel further, spend more time and money, or give up swimming altogether. This part of the East End has lost another key sporting facility.
“Councillors say they want Whitehill to have a future, while Glasgow Life says it is considering options. But children cannot learn to swim in an options appraisal. A community cannot stay active through a business case.”
Glasgow City Council budget papers this year allocated £50,000 for development of a business case for the site.
A Glasgow Life options appraisal published in June 2026 shortlisted three potential routes: a new-build wet-and-dry facility, a deep retrofit of the existing building, or mothballing with possible demolition.
The report recommends progressing to a Strategic Business Case to determine the future of the site.
A Glasgow Life spokesperson said: “Glasgow Life has been liaising closely with the Save Whitehill Pool group, other community stakeholders and local elected members on outline plans for the future of Whitehill Pool.
“To ensure independent analysis of all relevant information, consultants will be appointed to take forward this work. They will develop a business case which will allow Glasgow City Council to consider the next steps. Ultimately, it will be the Council that decides on the allocation of capital funding for any future refurbishment or development.”
Chris Ansell, director of live programmes and engagement at Glasgow 2026, said responsibility for the pool lies with the council and its arms-length organisation.
He said: “While we appreciate the value of swimming facilities to local people, decisions regarding their operation, funding and management rest with Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council.
“As the organising company for Glasgow 2026, our role is solely to deliver the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Our investment at Tollcross International Swimming Centre has been limited to Games-related venue readiness works, funded through ring-fenced investment by Commonwealth Sport.
“We do not have any funding or influence over wider swimming facilities in the city.”
