SCOTTISH Borders Council is to take back under its own control two services previously provided by its leisure provider.

A review has been carried out on the future of Live Borders, the body overseeing swimming pools, leisure centres, libraries, cultural venues and museums on behalf of SBC.

It was undertaken after the charitable trust experienced unprecedented challenges over the past five years, including the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent slow recovery, massively increased utility costs and changes in customer usage trends.

It led to the organisation requiring a series of financial bail-outs from local authority between 2022/23 and 2024/25.

At a meeting of SBC on Thursday, August 29, members agreed to transfer Active Schools and Sports Development in-house, to become part of the local authority’s education directorate.

The transfer is to take place on October 1.

Councillor Euan Jardine, the leader of Scottish Borders Council, said: “In the Scottish Borders we sometimes say that we punch above our weight, but we do not punch above our weight, we are a heavyweight region when it comes to sport and we need to keep that going, we need to keep delivering.

“Active Schools is an important part of bringing young people into sports, into activity and getting active and Sports Development goes on to develop champions and opportunities.

“Now as a council we can deliver pathways, not just through sport, but through every department we have in this council.”

David Robertson, chief executive of Scottish Borders Council, said: “It was clear prior to the joint review that changes were required to help Live Borders get on a sustainable footing and protect the continued delivery of key services to our residents and visitors.

“We are committed to working closely with the Live Borders board and our colleagues to ensure a seamless transition to the new operating model.

“We will continue to work with Live Borders on the joint transformational change programme to ensure that together we are able to deliver the changes that are essential to us being able to meet the needs of our communities in an affordable and sustainable way across all sport, leisure and culture services.”

Alison Moore, chair of Live Borders, said: “On behalf of the Board of Live Borders I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Active Schools and Sports Development teams for all of their work for the Trust over the years. The work that they do and the support that they give to children and adults alike engaged in sporting activities in our local area is tremendous.

“We have every confidence that they will continue to deliver this excellent work under the auspices of the council going forwards.

“The change that has been made by the Board of Live Borders in becoming a single member Trust is a step forward in aligning our governance structures with those of other leisure trusts in Scotland.

“This change emphasises the closeness of the working relationship that is enjoyed between the council and Live Borders.

“We also need to recognise though, that these changes do not have a material impact on the underlying financial position of the Trust. It was clear in the review of the Trust that was undertaken last year that our local communities understand there must be changes to our services for Live Borders to remain economically viable. This will only be achieved through significant change to the services that are provided. The transformational change programme is absolutely central to this change.”