CLACKMANNANSHIRE Council's SNP group have called for the resignation of Labour councillor Bobby McGill from his position of Leisure Portfolio holder.

SNP councillors say the council's leisure strategy is in chaos and that the Labour administration, led by Mr McGill , have failed to deliver an effective plan for leisure provision despite a long standing commitment to the council to do so.

They have criticised Labour's handling of various leisure issues including the sale of Zones in Alloa, the proposed leisure centre in Alva, which has seen objections from local residents and the continuing problems at Fishcross Equestrian Centre.

And councillor Mark English has accused the Labour group of trying to "steamroll through their own individual pet projects behind closed doors" without regard for the council's overall aims or proper consultation with the public.

Mr English said, "The council took a decision back in August 2007 to create a leisure strategy for Clackmannanshire. The main recommendation of that paper was to bring back to council for approval a sustainable Leisure Strategy, that would compliment the Council's Property and Education Reviews." The main aims of the council were to create a facility development plan including a new state of the art leisure centre, a sports development plan, a plan for subsidising leisure, a leisure activity development plan, a plan to offer financial support to halls, and a commitment by the council to support through partnership, existing successfully established clubs and organisations in Clackmannanshire and to oppose moves which could lead to the loss of established clubs in other areas.

Mr English went on, "The SNP tried to engage with the Labour group on leisure through the council's working groups but found out that when we were in meetings discussing leisure issues the leisure group were steam rolling through their own individual pet projects behind closed doors, without any regard for what the council was trying to do overall. Because of this we withdrew and gave them a free hand as the administration group to bring something resembling a plan back to full council but they have failed to do so and have now let the leisure plan degenerate into a shambles." Councillor Walter McAdam also slammed Labour's handling of the leisure strategy saying that they were imposing their views without consulting with user groups.

He said, "Recent events such as the row generated in Alva over the proposed sports centre have highlighted the lack of proper consultation that has been carried out by the council.

"They seem intent on imposing their views without asking the user groups what they require. They tend to give user groups little or no choice at all in their future." Mr McAdam went on, "I would have thought that if they were going to consider a regional sports centre for Clackmannanshire, where they might expect people from outside the county to attend, they would put it where the main road and rail links are in the county and that would obviously be in Alloa." Deputy SNP leader Gary Womersley also called for Mr McGill's resignation saying there had been a "catastrophic failure to plan for the future of leisure services in an organised way".

Mr Womersley said, "Everyone will have read in the Advertiser over recent weeks and months, just what a shambles Labour are in when it comes to Leisure.

"It is clear that Bobby McGill should have brought a paper back to council for discussion but has failed to do so which has led to fragmented implementation of leisure provision.

"We are being asked to look at everything from selling off assets without there being a bigger picture or strategy to take cognisance of. One minute Zones is being sold as surplus then it can be filled 10 times over.

"The only people that Labour are capable of consulting with are consultants - not the public. Had they done so, the issue with Zones, the Equestrian Centre, or local communities baulking at knee-jerk proposals that are apparently set in stone would not have happened.

"Labour don't know what they are trying to do. It's the public who suffer, however, hence the SNP have said enough is enough.It's imperative that the council sorts out a holistic strategy for leisure urgently.

"Public consultation should be an integral part of that, rather than the afterthought it appears to have been to date. I suspect councillor McGill will know himself that it is time to stand down and let in someone else who can try and make up the ground that has been lost over recent years." Councillor McGill declined to comment at this stage, saying he would respond at a later time.