FIFE Council have been asked to look at potential locations and the cost of a new leisure centre for Dunfermline.

A motion calling on the cabinet committee to instruct a feasibility study was agreed on Tuesday amid concerns about issues at Carnegie Leisure Centre and the loss of the swimming pool at Woodmill High when the school closes next year.

At the City of Dunfermline area committee, convener James Calder said: "It's really important we have a world class facility in Dunfermline.

"There's certainly been a number of issues at the Carnegie and I'd really like to see a feasibility study identify what needs to be done to get a facility that I believe Dunfermline deserves and needs."

In his motion, Conservative councillor Gavin Ellis said it maybe "made sense at the time" to refurbish the Carnegie, instead of spending money on a new leisure centre, but the decision had "come back to haunt" the council.

He said: "(When it re-opened in January 2012) the refurb was a year late, £10m over budget and came in at a total cost of £22.3m.

"That's eye-watering sums of money.

"We also had the additional sums that have been spent on addressing the ongoing issues and legal fees.

"Since the refurb a little over 10 years ago we've continued to see faults such as mechanical and electrical defects, heating issues, leaks, problems with tiles and of course the air quality issues that plagued it.

"We know for ourselves the on-off closures and the frustration from members of the public who can't access the pools at certain times."

He quoted an article from the Press in 2019 where the then councillor Helen Law had recalled her opposition to the refurbishment at the Pilmuir Street centre and that, at the time, she had argued that for less money a brand new leisure centre could be built elsewhere in Dunfermline.

Cllr Ellis said: "Helen also said that the decision to refurbish the centre was coming back to haunt the council.

"Let's get it right this time and make sure it doesn't come back to haunt us."

Lib Dem councillor Aude Boubaker-Calder, who recently pushed for swimming to be put back on the curriculum of primary schools in Fife, seconded the motion and highlighted that the new Dunfermline Learning Campus will not have a pool.

She said: "It's clear that as a city we need a fit for purpose leisure centre and unfortunately we have seen a plethora of problems at the Carnegie in recent years.

"I've heard of showers out of action, the training pool out of action, heating and contamination issues, the list goes on and on.

"It is not good enough for Dunfermline as a city to have a leisure centre that breaks down so often."

Labour councillor Cara Hilton said: "I share the concerns raised, particularly about the loss of the swimming pool at Woodmill and potentially also at Inverkeithing High.

"It's already a huge struggle for parents to get their children booked into public swimming lessons, the delay is something like 18 months to two years, and that's not good enough.

"There's also not enough swimming provision for the public, for example if you want to go swimming in the evening at Carnegie it's often booked up by clubs so clearly the provision we have doesn't meet the needs of our growing city."

SNP councillor Auxi Barrera tabled an amendment to expand the scope of the study and look at improving the existing provision at the Carnegie, but the vote went 6-4 in favour of the original motion.