People have “walked away” from Johnstone Community Sports Hub over the swimming pool’s opening hours, a councillor has warned.

Labour group leader Iain McMillan has claimed some residents have opted to use the facilities of other leisure operators instead, due to the pool typically being closed between 11am and 3pm on weekdays.

The veteran politician described the situation as “not good enough” – particularly during the summer holidays when families are looking for activities for children.

He said: “Johnstone hub is closed between 11am and 3pm most days.

“That’s four hours a day, so that’s 20 hours a week and that’s a long time for swimming pools to be closed.

“They have put on some Splash Sessions.

“It is slightly open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but the bottom line is it’s still closed for much of the time during the school holidays when the weather is bad and families are looking for something to do at a reasonable price.

“If it’s shut, they can’t access it. It’s not good enough.

“The days of people just working 9am until 5pm are gone. People are working flexible hours and they want to access facilities when they want basically.

Glasgow Times:

“I know anecdotally some people have walked away from OneRen and moved to private facilities because they’re open.”

The pool is open 7am until 11am and 3pm until 9pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 7am until 11am and 3pm until 8pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 9am until 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, according to OneRen’s website.

The charitable trust, which provides leisure and sport in Renfrewshire, said its costs have “increased significantly” in the last 18 months.

A OneRen spokesperson said: “The pool at Johnstone Community Sports Hub is open for nine or 10 hours on weekdays, and 9am to 4pm at the weekend.

“During the summer school holiday period, we are offering Splash Sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 12.30pm to 2.30pm, priced at £2. This is a two-hour fun session in the pool with floats and inflatables.

“As with all operators of public pools, our costs have increased significantly in the last 18 months, not least due to the huge increase in utility bills.

“As such, we look at pool usage and our opening times reflect this. We will continue to examine opening hours and adjust accordingly.”

Earlier this year, the UK Government announced around £60 million in funding to local authorities in England to support public leisure facilities with pools.

This prompted Councillor McMillan to question whether funding has been made available for the same purpose in Scotland.

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He said: “It would be daft not to acknowledge how much the energy crisis has cost for swimming pools.

“The cost has gone through the roof and OneRen are currently doing a review about their pricing for swimming pools.

“I get that but when the UK Government gives money to England, through Barnett consequentials money comes to Scotland.

“Now, I asked OneRen if we had received any money from that through the Scottish Government and they said, ‘No, we haven’t.’

“If they had received that money, that might have been enough to support extending the opening hours.”

It is understood consequentials have been added to the overall block in Scotland.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We place great importance on swimming pools.

“They are crucial to the wellbeing of all our country and most importantly, for our children and young people to be healthy and active.

“While it is for local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on leisure facilities, we will consider what additional support can be provided to swimming pools and the wider sport and leisure sector in Scotland.”