An East Kilbride bowling club is pleading with the council to keep the facility open.

Red Deer Bowling Club has expressed disappointment after councillors voted to potentially close the centre and bowling club to cut costs.

The plans were approved at the Housing and Technical Resources Committee meeting on Wednesday, August 30, when a proposal to save costs by exploring options to dispose of three facilities in Ward Seven of East Kilbride was presented to elected members.

The proposal seeks to find alternative opportunities for the three facilities in the ward, including the Red Deer Centre and Bowling Club, Westwood Hall and Dunedin Pavilion.

Red Deer Bowling Club has written to the council to consider turning the facility into a social enterprise.

The club has outlined its potential and the benefits of the facility on the health and well-being of members.

Club secretary Mandy Ramsey said: “As a club, we were extremely disappointed in the decision to carry the proposal. It was a very close call with an 11:11 vote and the chair’s vote making it a majority of 12:11.

“We have also been very disappointed in the lack of communication directly with the club as we only found out about the proposal by chance. We still have unanswered questions.”

The council has proposed a range of options for each facility.

For Red Deer Centre and Bowling Club, options include redeveloping the site for social housing or disposing of the property.

For Westwood Hall, the council has proposed to sell or lease the facility or offer a community asset transfer.

And for Dunedin Pavilion, the council has proposed a community asset transfer to a local sports club that has expressed an interest.

At the meeting, the proposals were contested as councillors raised concerns over the consultation process that occurred when reaching the decision to potentially close the three facilities.

Councillor Andrea Cowan (Rutherglen Central and North), proposed to launch further consultation with the communities impacted by the decision.

She said: “We as a group are unhappy with the process used in arriving at these recommendations and the fact that this paper has come to the committee with absolutely no community engagement appals us.

“These facilities are used by residents from all over East Kilbride and beyond, and there has been no consultation with the joining wards, service users, or the wider public. This paper is the result of a pilot discussion with wards.

“Surely the point of the pilot is to take note of feedback and use that to fine-tune the process.”

A total of 11 councillors voted in favour of councillor Cowan’s amendment, and 11 voted against it.

The chair of the Housing and Technical Resources Committee, councillor Davie McLachlan, had the power to make the ultimate decision and he voted to go ahead with the original plans.

The proposals to review facilities across South Lanarkshire will now be done on a ward-to ward basis, East Kilbride Central South served as a pilot.

Councillor Martin Lennon (Rutherglen Central and North), responded to councillor Cowan’s calls to further consult with communities.

He said: “In response to councillor Cowan and her amendment, I think there are some reasonable points, I think the most important part is clarity about the process and I think that the process that’s being followed is absolutely clear.

“These meetings are being carried out on a locality basis and the outcome of the meetings is to identify the properties that will then seek to have alternative proposals, it doesn’t mean that the properties that are identified are closed, it doesn’t mean that the council will draw funding, this is just a way of managing workload for the officers to identify the properties that alternative proposals are for.

“One outcome is to engage with people that use these facilities and engage on alternatives in terms of maintenance, ownership or to continue use.”

Others impacted by the decision are also up in arms. Westwood Community Council have organised a meeting in Westwood Community Hall on September 28 at 6 pm with intentions to form a campaign to save these facilities.