THE decision to change the swimming pool timetable at Carnegie Leisure Centre has been met with anger by users.

Fife Sport and Leisure Trust, which runs the Pilmuir Street facility on behalf of Fife Council, brought the changes into play last Saturday as part of cost-cutting measures.

It means that there will be no public swimming from 6-8pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The trust admitted that it hadn't been easy since Fife Council had cut their budget and said they "appreciate and recognise that there has been some regrettable disruption in making these changes" for their customers.

In May, the Press revealed plans to slash Carnegie's opening hours by six, closing at 5pm instead of 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

But the move sparked a backlash from Dunfermline Water Polo Club, Fife Synchronised Swimming Club and Carnegie Swimming Club that changes would harm their membership unless suitable alternatives were found.

After discussions with Scottish Swimming and the clubs, the trust offered dedicated weekday evening timeslots, but that comes at the detriment of pool users who have trust memberships.

Sarah Cunningham, who found out about the changes last week at her son's swimming lesson, said: "I think it’s shocking that this facility has been taken away, especially at these times when people and families can go after work and when we should be promoting opportunities for healthy lifestyles, not taking them away.

"This is a public facility paid for by taxpayers and this appears to have been ignored.

"As a member of Leisure Active, I don’t see how the council can put this restriction on without consulting – this would normally be the time I would use the pool."

Dunfermline South Councillor James Calder said he had received complaints about the timetable changes.

He said: "It is disappointing that there will be considerably less time in the evenings for people to use the swimming pool now unless they are club members.

"A number of people with leisure centre membership are unhappy.

"However, there has been a major lack of notice given about these changes.

"I would argue that for many who can no longer use the facilities, Fife Sports and Leisure Trust should waive any membership notice period due to the fact that they themselves have given a lack of notice."

Wendy Watson, chief operating officer for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, said: “The trust is not immune to the budget constraints of Fife Council and, as a charitable trust, it has had to take steps to adjust its service provision accordingly so that it can fulfil its duty to provide affordable, accessible, and importantly, sustainable, physical activity opportunities for the communities of Fife.

"Following a thorough review of all options, it was decided that a change to weekend opening hours at Carnegie Leisure Centre was the best solution in terms of cost savings with the least effect on customers. Consequently, the aquatic clubs which used the facility at weekends have now been accommodated with a weekday timetable.

"The trust has been actively engaged with stakeholders.

"This has not been an easy journey for the trust given our funding negotiations with Fife Council, and, we appreciate and recognise that there has been some regrettable disruption in making these changes to our customers.

"Leisure Active members who are affected by the changes of pool timetable will not be subject to any cancellation period or charge should they wish to cancel their membership.

"We are always very grateful to customers who choose to support the trust over a private gym, as they help us to reinvest into the local community and deliver on our commitment to getting more people of all ages and abilities more physically active."

The trust added they communicated the changes with customers as "soon as was possible".