Comments on: Northavon Bowls Club members ‘in tears’ as club disbands following row

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:14:28 +0000

I have read all the comments on your site and I cannot beleive the ignorence of the people in not understanding what has happened between the Bowls club and BSTC over the past 2 years.
There was definatly annamosity between the club and members of the council and what ever happened ,messers Barge, Jones and a few others were going to win even if they were wrong.
I beleive the bowls club is the only sports club in the town that does and never has received a grant even though they ran a youth section (200 youngsters) and held events for the elderly outside the bowls club members and never asked for a penny.
As for the “eletist” part, they are a mixed bunch of people including lorry drivers , process workers but the majority are retired Ex BAC workers.
As explaied earlier we are told to exercise more in old age and yet a local GP could not support the club in council, she could not upset her husband.
A lot of people cannot do their sums
The bowls club payed for the maintanace of the green and paid for the use of the pavilian but after all these years the council want to change the rules. It is now all over, but the council must stand up and be counted because it is going to cost the ratpayers many thousands of pounds for the mistakes BSTC have made.
I once belonged to the club but left because I moved from the area and I can tell anyone interested that they were a top club in the old Avon area and Gloucestershire and the most sociable people you will ever meet with lots of people well over 80 years of age they will now have nothing, think of them as you would your own parents and grandparents and would you like them to be treated like this ?
They have formed a Nomads team to play occationally, not a new club, it is to keep in touch with each other.

By: 'club bowler'

'club bowler' — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:18:01 +0000

John, your idea of asking an MP to mediate was a good one, and our club actively sought this course of action. Not one, but all three of the lcoal MP’s from every political party sent letters to BSTC and asked them to reconsider, but they were ignored. 2 MP’s asked their local party to intervene, which they did and one MP asked his local party chairman to act as a neutral mediator. BSTC refused this offer although the bowls club agreed. The Chair of South Glos offered to act as a mediator, again the bowls club agreed but BSTC refused. Even when South Glos who own Baileys Court offered to fund independent arbitration, BSTC refused although the bowls club agreed. (and this is documented).
Every other club in the area offers better facilities, with ease of access to clubhouse and toilets, members bar and all at a more reasonable price, which is why Bradley Stoke bowlers have voted with their feet.

By: Bert

Bert — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:19:45 +0000

Let others comment!!

By: Bert Chappell (BERT)

Bert Chappell (BERT) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:25:11 +0000

Well done MKII Feb 4th-you have summed things up very well-whether you were a member or not.I am (was) a member for a number of years-& all I will say that this should not have happened.I still wonder what brought all this about in the 1st place.There has been a clash of personalities-Mr Barge would know all about that apart from the financial situation.The big question is what is the Green to be used for?I believe in the original (& still existing) agreement with S Glos Council there are constrictions in this matter.My fellow players are split up but WILL be playing with other Clubs where we know we will be WELCOME

By: John

John — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:32:52 +0000

For the good of the community, I hope it’s only a matter of time before a new bowling club is born. Out of the ashes, the phoenix shall rise!

What, I wonder, do the more moderate members of the old club think?

By: MKII

MKII — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:46:39 +0000

Correct John,
the bowling clubs committees main objective, in serving its members, should have been to ensure the continued existence of their club.

Putting aside who may have been right and who may have been wrong (Bowling Club v BSTC), they should not have taken a course of action that would risk the existence of their club.

They entered into an argument that they were never going to win. Not because they may not have eventually been proven right or got an agreement that suited them, but because it was going to take so long for any conclusion to happen, they’d have no members left to celebrate a victory! Exactly what has happened.

With all the uncertainty and turmoil that this period of arguing and eviction from its home has brought to the club, it was so obvious from day 1 that many members would go elsewhere for every day that the dispute continued.

The club now has so few members left on its books that any resolution is now pointless. The club has folded.

I’m all for people arguing their point, but, no matter what the argument, the prime objective should have been ensuring the club lived to fight another day.
Surely, if the alternative was the death of the club (which its proven to be) it would have been better to at least have remained alive (by getting something signed with the council) and then carrying on the negotiations about the long term implications once the clubs short term future was secured.

Carrying on this dispute sealed the clubs fate, through its leakage of members, as much as the club may feel any council actions may have done.
The club held being stubborn about winning an argument as being more important than surviving. By the time they realised this, it was too late.

By: John

John — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:11:34 +0000

As an ‘outsider’ taking an interest in Bradley Stoke as a possible place where my next home could be located, I can’t help concluding that both the Bowling Club and the Town Council have let down the community in general.
A resolution is desparately needed: perhaps our MP could take a lead in the mediation.
The figures which abound in the various reports and comments are both confusing and inconsistent. A greater clarity would be helpful. Cost comparisons with other bowling clubs might be interesting.
On the one occasion, a couple of years ago, I witnessed the bowling club in full swing there was no impression the members were impoverished, so I would suggest they should be prepared to pay subsciptions related to the true cost of running the facility, without expecting any large subsidy.
Looking in from the outside it seems the biggest problem is that the people involved have lost their objectivity!

By: jim

jim — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:58:42 +0000

Being a member of North Avon Bowling I thought I would put the cost to bowlers of playing in 2007 our last year
Green keeping including materials £8293.00
Rent to Council £2125.00
membership 88 bowlers who raised the money
The Council wanted an 8% increase each year over the next 5 years.WE as bowlers could no longer afford this increase
Hoping for an agreetment we carried on with the upkeep in 2008 at a cost of £6543.00
although locked out of the green
The last game played on the green was September 2007 when will the next 6 rinker be played