Opposition councillors have hit out at a move to slash £130,000 from community hall spending – describing it an “attack on communities”.
Last week, the SNP administration pushed through plans to cut the cash, which will see the loss of at least six jobs as well as a review on opening hours and charges.
The reviews will take place at halls across West Dunbartonshire, including at the Concord, Denny Civic Theatre, Alexandria Community Centre and Bonhill Community Centre.
Regular groups who use the centres could also be handed keys, giving them more responsibilty.
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Meanwhile, a community asset transfer of the West Dunbartonshire Activity Centre in Brucehill has been proposed.
The decision means all 12 of the council’s community centres will stay open, with more than £5million to be spent on upgrading them over the next three years.
The move was agreed at a corporate services committee meeting, where Labour hit out at the plans and urged councillors to do nothing instead.
Speaking about the report which went to members, Councillor Daniel Lennie said: “There’s a lot of scary stuff in this. What’s the position with health and safety? If it’s the chairman of the tennis association do they need to know how the fire drill works? What happens if the unions don’t agree with that?
“This is an attack on our communities. Plain and simple. We have to go forward with option D and send the message out to our communities who have suffered for years with austerity cuts.
“There are communities who are going to suffer for this.”
The council says the decision aligns with two public consultations in which residents and groups said they didn’t want to see their local centres close, and wanted more money spent on the buildings.
The meeting also heard that “more than 10” West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust staff have expressed an interest in taking voluntary early retirement.
Council leader Jonathan McColl said: “What we are talking about is allowing people to go through voluntary retirement who want to go.
“We are not talking about anybody being made redundant.”
In a swipe at the Labour group, he added: “They really don’t have a leg to stand on. They are just trying to find something to hose for the sake of hosing. This is about better use of staffing to save the public purse.”
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Officers originally recommended cutting hours at a Clydebank community centre, which would have saved a total of £187,000 from the budget, but this was rejected.
Labour tabled an amendment attacking the council for “its austerity agenda” and calling on members to reject the cuts.
But the SNP’s motion was agreed with the chair’s casting vote sealing the decision.
Speaking afterwards, Councillor Ian Dickson, convener of the committee, said: “This decision takes on board the feedback from residents who have made it clear how much they value their local community centres. At the same time it is also important that the council spends public money carefully.”
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