Sunday opening of the Sports Centre
Dear All [sent to various public representatives]
Would you be willing to put your name and title to this letter along with several others including members of the electorate, health care professionals and council members? Your support would be helpful and very much appreciated. Feel free to add any suggestions, although we would like to keep this short and to the point.
Kind regards
Elma and George
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Mr Gordon Jamieson
Acting Chief Executive
Western Isles Health Board
37 South Beach
Stornoway
Dear Mr Jamieson
We, the undersigned, believe that the Western Isles Health Board should be encouraging all avenues to improve the very poor standard of health amongst the population of these islands. There can be no doubt that one way of improving health and reducing the shocking statistics surrounding premature death due to heart disease and obesity, would be access to sport and leisure facilities at the weekend.
At present, the Western Isles Council prohibits the use of these facilities by the public on Sundays. We urge you to raise this matter at Board level and petition the Council to change this policy.
Yours sincerely
Would you be willing to put your name and title to this letter along with several others including members of the electorate, health care professionals and council members? Your support would be helpful and very much appreciated. Feel free to add any suggestions, although we would like to keep this short and to the point.
Kind regards
Elma and George
-----------------
Mr Gordon Jamieson
Acting Chief Executive
Western Isles Health Board
37 South Beach
Stornoway
Dear Mr Jamieson
We, the undersigned, believe that the Western Isles Health Board should be encouraging all avenues to improve the very poor standard of health amongst the population of these islands. There can be no doubt that one way of improving health and reducing the shocking statistics surrounding premature death due to heart disease and obesity, would be access to sport and leisure facilities at the weekend.
At present, the Western Isles Council prohibits the use of these facilities by the public on Sundays. We urge you to raise this matter at Board level and petition the Council to change this policy.
Yours sincerely
15 comments:
Well, well, well. So opening the sports centre is going to solve all our health issues??? Why don't you all take your families outside - play in the garden, go for a walk on the beach, climb a hill, go for a cycle around the grounds?? Use our natural resources. Give your children fresh air, not a bath in chemicals!!! If you really want to use the sports centre, there are 6 other days when the facility is near empty (and don't dare tell me you can't spare the time!!)
Some people work 6 days a week and live a long way from town. By the time you have fed kids, driven them in, and then home again it is too late on. Not everyone lives on Stornoway Trust Estate.
BTW I use the sports centre frequently. It is disturbing to see this myth being developed that the centre is often "near empty". and even if it was, well so are many churches, but I don't think anyone with any decency would start suggesting that they should be closed. This argument is bitter reactionary crap, the like of which sends people to live on the mainland.
anon9.20:
I can't spare the time. Sunday's the ideal day for me. Who are you to tell me when I can and can't use something I've already paid for?
Anon11.44am
Fair first point but there are facilities in Ness, Shawbost, Tarbert you could use if any of these are closer.
I also use the sports centre very frequently and know how "busy" it is. Nowhere was it mentioned that the facilities be closed - where did you get that from?? Just want people to get out and about with the kids on a Sunday. Enjoy the great outdoors.
9.20am
Anon12.00pm
I'm sure there are lots of things you (and I) have paid for but can't use. The public sector's generous retirement scheme is perhaps one.
9.20am
Anon 9.20
Its not so many years ago that the taliban tried to prevent people going to the beach at Tolsta on their sabbath- and try to play outside with a football on sunday in SY- the holy rollers WILL and HAVE called the police to stop kids having a kickabout in Bayhead playpark- believe it or not there is still a bye-law in force prohibiting sunday football!
Good on you George and Elma - its about time people stood up for normality. How dare our elected representatives tell people what they should and shouldn't do with their weekends.
Nobody has mentioned that the employees may not wish to work on a Sunday but to have leisure time with their families...
If I want to go for a swim on Sunday morning why shouldn't I?
Whilst I respect the views of some Christians to honour the Sabbath I am not myself a follower of that faith so why should I be bound by its rules?
As for the question of whether employees will want to work on Sundays, why not give them the choice first?
Surely enough people can be found to fill the places on a part-time basis for those that choose not?
Parents of children who are otherwise unable to work during the week, for example.
I work 6 days a week and would like the chance to use the Sports Centre on my only day off. Why can the Southern Isles have the use of their Sports Centre and not us in Lewis. Do we not all pay tax to the same council? So should we not all be eligible for the use of the same facilities regardless of location within the authority. Good Luck George & Elma.
I offer my full support to this campaign to open the Stornoway Sports Centre on Sunday.
The Outer Hebrides are on one hand desperatly needing to re-dress the balance in our population/ demography and on the other holding rigid to policies and practices which are frankly borne of another era. Young people and families are looking to live in a society which enables them to choose how they spend their precious recreation time. Exactly the same arguement applies to Sunday ferries - its about choice!
BTW - I am a (local) Christian and believe many other, particularly younger christians see the reasonableness of this position. We may not use the facilities ourselves, but have absolutely no collective right to deny others their rights.
Our culture is special and Sunday is indeed precious to many - but in a democracy, we must not stifle progress.
Perhaps George should look at working on Saturday and Sundays and getting the dental waiting lists down.
I am sure he would be delighted to work 7 days if asked, as this is what he is asking the sports centre staff to do.
Anon 08:46
No one is asking the Staff to work 7 days a week. Any more than they have to work 6 days a week.
Management woul have to re roster people and shock horror, possibly employ people to work just on a Sunday. Go to any pool on a Sat/Sun and you will find a lot of the life guards are young "kids" 17-19 fulfilling these roles. Just in case you think I mean mainland pools look at the pools in Shetland and Orkney (Mr Burr's old place of work).
Whilst I support the opening of the sports centre on Sunday on ‘freedom of choice’ grounds I think there is more work to be done before trying to justify it on health grounds. Although the health benefits are obvious, who really stands to benefit?
As a regular visitor to the sports centre it is patently obvious to me that the facility is under utilised, why is this? There may be many reasons but a striking one is the entry charges. I currently pay a monthly fee of £38.00 and this provides me with access to most of the facilities for the month, although generally I only use the same two or three. However if my wife decides that she is going to do the same we can get a slight concession and both of us can have access.. This is a significant outlay for any family but when you consider that there is no tariff available to enable my two children to join us, you have to ask the question how does this encourage health and wellbeing?
The current situation where a minority can afford to pay these charges has in effect created an ‘exclusive club’ at the Lewis sports centre. This is an unfortunate situation when you consider that the people who are most likely to suffer from ill health are those who are least likely to have the means to pay, whatever happened to social inclusion?
I would suggest that if the argument for opening the sports centre on health grounds carries any weight then the people who make decisions on access charges should perhaps look at volume of people rather than high costs. By making the facility more accessible to everyone no matter when the centre is open will surely provide greater overall health benefits to the people of Lewis and Harris then at least when it does open on a Sunday there will be enough people ready to use it.
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