Scottish Water says it isn’t to blame as Fife leisure centre forced to close

It came under fire after last week’s torrential rain saw the car park of East Sands Leisure Centre in St Andrews flooded, and toilets and sinks backed up.

The local swimming club was advised not to use the showers before the centre had to close its doors completely for a day because staff “were not confident” they could safely let people use the facility with the threat of its drains overflowing.

Fife Sports & Leisure Trust blamed a treatment plant next to the building which it said could not cope with a large influx in water.

That prompted two councillors to call on Scottish Water to take action and come up with a permanent solution to what they said was a long-standing problem.

But the company said it had carried out checks, and the plant was not the source of the sewage.

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: "Following inspections of the local pumping station, Scottish Water do not believe this asset is causing the issues experienced by East Sands Leisure Centre.

Today, (Friday), our sewer response team is attending the site to check the sewer for any obstructions that may be impacting on the centre’s drainage during intense rainfall. We will update Fife Sports and Leisure Trust of the outcome of this. If necessary, we will work with them to explore any other potential causes of the issues they are currently experiencing."

Several years ago, upgrades were made at the pumping station that this site drains to as well as other assets in the area. Weekly inspections are also carried out at the pumping station to ensure everything is operating as it should.

In a letter to councillors, Emma Walker, chief executive of the trust, said: “Due to the excessive rainfall at the end of last week, East Sand Leisure’s Centre operations were impacted considerably on Thursday evening and Friday.

“The car park drain at building entrance overflowed which limited access to the centre. The downstairs toilets did not drain away, with water sitting high within the toilet bowl.

“On Thursday we closed initially in the afternoon and then reopened to limited groups in the evening. We contacted the swimming club directly and asked them not to shower when they used the centre. On Friday we were unable to open to the public for the whole day. We were not confident that we could safely let our customers use the facility with the threat of our drains overflowing. “

The centre re-opened fully on Saturday morning, but with concerns locally over its reduced operating hours the closure caused concern among councillors.

Councillor Al Clark (St Andrews, Lib Dems) said: 'This incident resulted in yet another closure of the leisure centre to the public, when it is already operating a restricted timetable.

“With a climate emergency now upon us, these incidents are likely to occur again, which will no doubt cause future disruption. This means the people of St Andrews and the surrounding area will continue to lose out until Scottish Water fix the problem. It won't do.”

Councillor Jane Ann Liston (St Andrews, Lib Dems) said: , 'It is unbelievable that this has been a known problem for years, though the increased occurrence of very heavy rainfall has exacerbated the situation. Scottish Water must immediately take steps to permanently deal with this issue so that it does not occur again.”