Closing Dewars Centre ice rink in Perth would threaten Scotland and Great Britain’s place on the high of world curling, politicians have been warned.

Perth and Kinross Council desires to shut Dewars and two different sports activities services and create one new centre that will not embrace an ice rink.

Scottish Curling chief government Vincent Bryson hopes to steer them to rethink the plan subsequent week.

“We are opposed to the closure of any ice rink,” he advised BBC Scotland.

“Perth and the Dewar Centre in particular have a huge resonance throughout the sport. There are gold medals galore at Olympic and world level.

“If we do not have sufficient locations for individuals to take part and be seen and recognized as future expertise and future champions, finally we might lose our vital standing on the world stage.”

Eve Muirhead has also described the proposal to close what she regards as “the house of curling in Scotland” as a “shock” and pointed out the part it played in her journey to world and Olympic golds.

The council says Dewars is used mainly for curling and indoor bowling, which only account for 3% of sports use in Perth.

Closing it along with Perth Leisure Pool and the Bell’s Sports Centre would allow it to cut costs by creating a centre with a new swimming pool, fitness gym, sports hall, studios and family play activities.

Bryson added: “Curling just isn’t the one sport that makes use of ice rinks, however we’re seeing a sample the place they aren’t seen as a precedence by traders and by authorities.

“If we lost Dewars, we would be down to 20 ice rinks, which would be a record low for the country, and we would be asking others to bear that burden.

“We would lose roughly round 1,000 curlers if we misplaced Dewars – 500 had been affected negatively by the Ayr closure – and that is troublesome for any sport to maintain. Eventually, that will feed into the excessive stage, elite finish of the game.”