Northavon Bowls Club is to take legal action against Bradley Stoke Town Council over the rental row which has seen the club locked out of the Bailey’s Court green.
The town council has demanded an 8% rise in rent which it says is an increase in line with other users at the centre.
The club was set a deadline earlier this month to either agree to the rise or to leave the green.
Members of the club turned down the rise and are now due to remove their equipment on Tuesday.
In a statement the club said: “This week our solicitors will be serving notice on BSTC of our legal action to ensure our future at Bailey’s Court in order that we may regain access to the green and continue as a bowling club.”
We’ve included the statement in full below:
Although we do NOT accept that the Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) is acting lawfully in respect of its demands, to protect the Club’s assets we are removing our property under duress from the premises on Tuesday May 27th.
The dispute between our bowling club and BSTC has never been just about the amount of rent payable for 2008; that has been agreed. It is more about securing the future of the club by achieving certainty in respect of future rents and to obtain full use of the facilities that we are entitled to.
In view of the conduct of the Town Council and their disregard for the law we are not prepared to write a blank cheque for future years. We already pay for the maintenance of the green and we are prepared to pay the full cost attributable to our occupation of the premises. The Town Council is not prepared to make a fair assessment of those costs and erroneously claims that we are the most subsidised user of the facility.
The Town Council has returned two cheques for payment of rent because they were not prepared to allow us to continue bowling pending settlement. They have refused any form of mediation or arbitration despite this being offered at no cost, although we have readily agreed.
This week our solicitors will be serving notice on BSTC of our legal action to ensure our future at Bailey’s Court in order that we may regain access to the green and continue as a bowling club.
1 response so far ↓
1 anao // Jun 2, 2008 at 4:12 pm
This is pathetic juvenile behaviour by the Northavon bowls club. When will they realise that they live in the real world where circumstances change readily and as such rent levels can not be “guaranteed” years in advance. I wish I could turn round to my bank and say sorry I don’t feel like paying your new higher mortgage rate, but I can’t. To conclude – the sooner they pack up and leave the sooner a putting green can be installed on the site (a facility I am sure would get much more use by the community)
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