Scottish Borders Council and Live Borders published their Sport, Leisure and Cultural Services and Facilities Facility Information & Scoring Overview on the evening of the 14th November. Link below.
We are devastated to read that their recommendation for Southfield Community Centre is as follows.
It is recommended that Southfield Community Centre be closed, with existing activities relocated to suitable alternative venues within Duns, such as Duns Primary School, Berwickshire High School, A Heart for Duns, the Library Contact Centre, and the Swimming Pool. Comprehensive support will be provided to ensure a smooth transition for all existing users. This approach will maintain continuity of provision while reducing significant property-related costs and addressing the maintenance and accessibility issues associated with the current building. Southfield is an ageing facility with high running and maintenance costs and an ongoing unsustainable financial deficit. While the centre has social value through its support for local organisations, including the Citizens Advice Bureau , its operational inefficiencies and underuse make continued operation unsustainable. Mitigations exist due to the range of alternative, strategic venues within the community. Relocating activities to other well-equipped community venues in Duns will allow services to continue in more accessible, energy-efficient, and strategically aligned settings. Disposal of the property will then be progressed, subject to the resolution of ownership matters and completion of necessary legal processes. A new management/operating model which seeks to maximise usage and income generation with a view to a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) by 31 March 2029 at the latest may be an alternative if sufficient interest exists within the community. However, community operation was actively dismissed as an option by key stakeholders and the ongoing costs could well be prohibitive in respect of this specific facility.
It is too early to begin to understand exactly how this will impact Duns and District u3a but it is likely to be very difficult for us as more than 50% of our venue based groups currently meet in Southfield..Some of the alternative venues suggested in the document, such as the schools are unlikely to suit us as we need our sessions during school hours!
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Duns and District u3a 