Perth's Bells Sports Centre to close

Councillors voted to withdraw services from August

The move has been taken to prevent more flooding incidents
Author: Kieran BrandPublished 15th May 2024

Bells Sports Centre in Perth is to be closed after a unanimous vote by councillors.

Its services, which will be withdrawn from August 31, will be moved to the Dewars Centre, replacing the city's only indoor bowling carpet.

Flooding in 2023 had caused significant damage to the Bells and the move has been taken to prevent similar happening again.

Perth and Kinross Council and Historic Environment Scotland are now expected to begin exploring public service uses for the building.

Last year, Live Action Leisure had announced plans to relocate the Bell Sports Centre gym and fitness studios to the Strathearn Hall at Dewars Centre.

The spokesperson said in March: "This is not a decision that our board has taken lightly, and we are fully aware of the impact on those that currently use Dewars.

"However, this will protect a vital income stream for Live Active Leisure and reinstate the key fitness services used by approximately 7000 individuals and generating circa 150,000 annual usages.

"By comparison and - as reported in the Leisure Assets Review - indoor bowling attracts 200 different users who generate around 6,000 annual usages."

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