A Labour councillor has spoken out on the proposed cuts in Clydesdale community services

​People across South Lanarkshire are being invited to take part in a hard-hitting consultation on council finances as South Lanarkshire Council steps up work on its Budget.

Council officers are currently looking at how wind turbine funds can be leveraged to support key assets and all options are on the table to save these crucial assets.

Lesmahagow, Coalburn and Douglas and rural areas across Clydesdale are well placed in relation to wind turbine funds but these funds must be targeted.

Scottish Labour and Co-operative Councillor Ross Gowland who represents Clydesdale South said: “If the SNP Scottish Government do not change course they will unleash a financial storm on South Lanarkshire Council the like of which has never been seen before.

“Rural working people are some of the most left behind communities in Scotland. We can’t allow the Scottish Government to asset strip our communities, cement austerity and close down our most prized assets.

“After meetings with Council officials I can report Coalburn Leisure Complex has been taken off the closure list and I will continue to have meetings with stakeholders about the long-term future of the complex.

“I’ve been fighting closures and austerity since I was elected in May 2022 and I will continue to find a way forward to avert job cuts or closures at Hollandbush Golf Course and Douglas St Brides Community Centre.

“I would encourage positive engagement and participation in South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture’s (SLLC) consultation activity.

“Hollandbush Golf Course and Douglas St Brides are crucial assets in Clydesdale and must be protected. SLLC have a staffing arrangement with Douglas St Brides and the centre is owned by a community group.

“Council officers are currently looking at how wind turbine funds can be leveraged to support key assets and all options are on the table to save these crucial assets.

“Some rural areas across Clydesdale are located in areas where they can access wind turbine funds but these funds must be targeted.

“Council budgets have been cut year on year by the Scottish Government but there is still time for the Scottish Government to step in and save our assets.

"Let me be clear we should not be in this situation. The funding crisis we face is a consequence and a legacy of underfunding and neglect from the Scottish Government.

“I will do all I can to achieve a resolution, but the legacy of underfunding lies at the door of the Scottish Government and our local MSP Mairi McAllan whose government has consistently voted to cut local government budgets. Cuts have serious and long-lasting consequences.

“Mairi McAllan MSP must use her voice as a Cabinet Secretary to protect assets in her Clydesdale constituency.”