EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE
The number of admissions at libraries and museums in the Scottish Borders fell significantly in 2018/19, and the Trust responsible for cultural and leisure services faces a tough financial future as the local council is to cut its management fee by three percent over the coming two years.
An annual report from Live Borders, which runs an extensive portfolio of sports facilities, libraries and museums for Scottish Borders Council, warns of the continuing financial challenges facing the Trust's directors and 400 staff.
At the same time a performance report for the last financial year shows a healthy increase in attendances at sports facilities but a disappointing slump in the numbers turning up at Borders libraries and museums.
During 2018/19 Live Borders invested £11.257 million in delivering its leisure, recreation and cultural services which were transferred from the council in 2016.
But SBC's financial contribution to the Trust fell from £5.520 million in 2017/18 to £5.475 million last year. And local authority money will drop further, to £5.315 million this year, and to £5.189 million in 2020/2021.
The accounts point out that Live Borders will have to fund all budgetary pressures, adding: "Live Borders continues to discuss the potential impact of these pressures with Scottish Borders Council".
In a section of the report headed Risk Management, Live Borders state: "One of the biggest risks facing the Trust will be maintaining financial stability and service delivery in the context of managing a large property portfolio and ambitious income generation targets alongside reduced levels of local authority funding".
The portfolio includes 15 sports facilities including six swimming pools, two sports halls, an outdoor sports complex and bowls hall, three artificial pitches, two high school sports centres, six libraries, 12 museums, an outdoor visitor centre, 14 community halls, ten community centres, a multi-function cinema, theatre and office complex, and an archive hub.
In 2018/19 Live Borders reported a deficit of £723,000. There was a pensions adjustment of £970,000.
The performance report posted on the council's website, reveals a 12 per cent increase in admissions to sports facilities - 873,112 compared to 779,704 in 2017/18. The operating loss on these facilities is given as £2.393 million (£2.357 million).
The number of visits to the collection of town libraries - the six run by the Trust do not include those SBC libraries now combined with contact centres and still in council control - fell sharply from 310,516 in 2017/18 to 292,339 - a drop of 18,177. The operating loss for this section of the cultural service is recorded as £1.010 million (£992,000).
Live Borders' collection of a dozen museums scattered across the Borders region attracted 127,072 visitors in 2018/19, 9,057 fewer than the 2017/18 total of 136,129. But the operating loss of £847,203 was considerably lower than the previous year's sum of £970,948.
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