Leisure and Culture Dundee Consultation

THE RESULTS of a major consultation on the future delivery of three leisure and cultural services in the city will be discussed by councillors next week.

Dundee City Council’s city governance committee will hear that Mills Observatory in Dundee could remain open after additional funding was secured by Leisure and Culture Dundee (LACD) which could stop delivering services at Caird Park Golf Courses and from Broughty Castle Museum.

Mark Flynn, committee convener, said: “I am grateful to the almost 2500 people who took the time, not only to take part in the consultation, but also to offer up ideas for different ways that these services could be paid for.

“The decision to stop delivering any services in the city is not something that is done lightly, and all reasonable suggestions have been explored, but these recommendations show just how challenging the financial position is as work goes into balancing the books for the next financial year.

“As part of the consultation process, external funding has been identified for the observatory, and I would encourage people across the city to make good use of it during these darker winter nights.”

The consultation was launched earlier this year after LACD proposed ending services at the observatory, along with Caird Park Golf Courses and Broughty Castle Museum, in the face of a significant budget gap.

For the next three to five years, £95,000 in funding for the observatory will come from a mix of private money and trusts. In addition, councillors will be asked to agree up to £15,000 a year, to be reviewed in three years, as part of the package to keep services running.

Work will now focus on delivering a longer-term business plan, exploring further funding and increasing the educational offer, as well as boosting marketing efforts around the Balgay Park facility, which has already resulted in increased visitor numbers.

If the report is approved on Monday (December 2) Broughty Castle Museum will close by the end of October next year, and Caird Park Golf Courses by the end of April 2025. These moves would save LACD more than £400,000 per year.

The 35-page report reveals that visitor numbers at Broughty Castle Museum in 2023/24 were 39,223, but still down from 43,149 in 2019/20. Ending services at the castle is projected to save LACD £80,000 a year, while returning the building to owner Historic Environment Scotland, would save the council £30,000 a year in property costs.

Meanwhile closing Caird Park Golf Course, could contribute £335,000 a year to LACD’s budget shortfall. Rounds played on both courses are down 7.5% (nine holes) and 1.6% (18 holes) year-on-year. Currently every round played at the Caird Park courses is subsidised by Dundee taxpayers to the tune of £9.10.

If the proposal to stop delivering LACD services at the course is agreed it is expected that the area will become parkland, including grassland to support biodiversity, at a maintenance cost to the council of £26,000 a year. However alternative uses or redevelopment of the site could still be explored with interested parties in the lead-up to the closure.

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