Borders culture takes a COVID hammering

by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

The Scottish Borders' main provider of sports, leisure, and cultural services which is already having to cope with annual reductions in its management fee from the local authority, has published a set of  striking statistics showing how COVID-19 has decimated participation and membership. 

Live Borders, the charitable trust set up to take over the running of sports and leisure facilities from Scottish Borders Council in 2003 warn in their annual report for 2021/22  it will be months, if not years, before customer numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019/20, before COVID struck, the number of participations/visits to sporting facilities totalled 1,261,019. But during the last financial year that number slumped to 705,907. That represents a 44 per cent drop over two years.

The decline in so-called culture visits to museums, libraries etc. was even more marked.

This sector clocked up 448,317 visits in 2019/20, but a mere 182,954 in 2021/22. The catastrophic fall in numbers works out at 59 per cent.

The data in the report and accounts also reveals how sports membership was cut from 6,107 to 3990 (34.6%) over the two years. In the same period active users of libraries dropped from 15,593 to 7,363 or 52.7%.

Live Borders' objectives include "expand levels of participation and access for all".

The report says that in 2021/22 the trust invested £10.7 million in "delivering safe, fun, educational and accessible cultural, physical activity and sport facilities and services to the communities in the Scottish Borders".

Following the COVID-19 restrictions all of the charity's services restarted by August 2021. But the trustees state "Participation numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels across all services. During March 2022 Live Borders paid sports membership was at 63% of the pre-pandemic level, with visitors (physical and digital) to libraries at 37%".

This downward spiral of customers had financial consequences with the cost per visit in each sector increasing significantly.

Each visit linked to sport cost Live Borders £7.16p in 2019/20. The equivalent figure for 2021/2022 was £10.87p. Meanwhile, each visit to libraries increased from £3.41p to £7.71 in the same period. And  in the case of museums, the rise in costs per visit was astronomical from £7.12p to £28.66p.

The management agreement between Live Borders and Scottish Borders Council means the annual fee paid by the local authority now diminishes by five per cent per annum.

"In 2021/22 SBC paid £5.06 million (2020/21 £5.2 million) in management fee to Live Borders. The fee for the next two years has been set to reduce by £251,000 per annum. Live Borders are required to fund all budgetary pressures, and continue to discuss the potential impact of these pressures with SBC".

The management fee was cut by £153,000 last year.

Live Borders' portfolio includes 13 sports facilities, among them six swimming pools; three sports halls, six libraries; 11 museums; 14 community halls; ten community centres; and a multi-function cinema, theatre and office complex.

The trust has also been tasked with running the recently opened Great Tapestry of Scotland gallery in Galashiels where visitor numbers in the first twelve months totalled 24,000 - less than half the predicted 51,000. The visitor attraction also suffered badly as a result of COVID-19.