A total of £8.4 million will be spent improving the likes of the John Wright Sports Centre in East Kilbride, the Hamilton Water Palace, Coalburn Leisure Complex, Blantyre Sports Centre and Eastfield Lifestyles in Rutherglen.

Other places to benefit include Hamilton Townhouse, Rutherglen Town Hall and Lanark Memorial Hall, and Chatelherault and Calderglen country parks. Investments will also be made in gym equipment across the South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) estate, and to help reprovision libraries.

The list of improvements, which was approved today by the Executive Committee, will be the first tranche from a £13m fund that was agreed by the Council in February 2023 in recognition of the need to help SLLC modernise its facilities and meet climate change targets.

Council Leader Joe Fagan said: “I am glad to see this work coming to fruition and it will make a very real difference to the experience enjoyed by our residents when they visit the area’s gyms and sports facilities, town halls and country parks.

“Make no mistake about it, in the current position where local authorities are being woefully under-funded, it is very difficult to make these sort of investments. However, we have been able to do this by planning ahead to make prudent use of the monies available to us.

“This means we can plan for the long-term future for our facilities, making the sort of adaptations that will increase footfall and ensure they are enjoyed by our residents for years to come.”

The first tranche of funding will also pay for improvements at Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds, Hillhouse and Earnock Community Centre and Fairhill Lifestyles in Hamilton, James Hamilton Heritage Park and Murray Owen in East Kilbride, the former Farmhouse Hall in Rutherglen, and the former Bowling Pavilion in Carnwath.

Investment in also planned in providing equipment to extend accessibility to the area’s swimming pools and at 11 sites across the area. The full list of investments can be found on the council website.