Bradley Stoke Bowls Club has written to South Gloucestershire Council to ask for help in its row with Bradley Stoke Town Council over a new rental agreement.

The letter accused the town council of expecting the club to “sign it [the new deal] without question” and of “bullying tactics”.

We’ve included a full copy of the letter below.

BSTC are still spreading their propaganda. They say negotiations have been going on for over one year. Untrue. They didn’t meet with us or reply to letters for one year. They gave us a draft new agreement in the first week of March and expected us to sign it without question. This was just a continuation of their bullying tactics - leave everything until the bowling season was about to start.

They don’t understand the difference between, subsidise, profit and loss. We are prepared to sign an agreement that will give them full recovery of the costs associated with our occupation of the building and as we pay in full for the maintenance of the green, there is no subsidy. Yet they say we are the most subsidised user. The cricket club will be paying between £4k and £5k and the maintenance of the cricket field and square alone costs between £15k and £20k per annum. Now that is subsidy and BSTC has entered into an agreement with the cricket club on this basis.

It is not our problem if the Bailey’s Court centre is run at a loss at they make little effort to find users, as they prefer to offer their other sites to customers. And, of course they cannot make a profit on our occupation under the terms of their lease with South Glos.

They built an extension costing £775k with no business plan for a return on that investment (the only regular user is the youth club which has been given a peppercorn rent) and effectively want a contribution from us when we don’t enjoy any of the new facilities.

Any help you can give in resolving this will be appreciated.

The bowls club row featured on BBC Radio Bristol on Tuesday morning - chief reporter Nigel Dando interviewed members of the club on-air.

The row is also featured on the front page of the Bristol Evening Post. Check out the full story here.

A spokesman for Bradley Stoke Town Council says it is still willing to negotiate with Northavon Bowls Club over a disputed rent agreement but has accused the group of using “childish” tactics.

Councillor Robert Jones, who was involved in trying to broker a deal with the club over use of the green at Bailey’s Court, says he was “shocked” and “disappointed” at Sunday’s protest.

Members of the club decided to hold and impromptu match after the chains holding the gate shut were cut at some point overnight on Saturday.

A spokesman for the bowls club told the BBC they did not know who had cut the chains. The match was eventually abandoned when the police arrived.

They were protesting over an increase of their fees by 50% to £2,300, and then 8% a year for the next four years.

“We’ve tried, in the council in the last 12 months, very hard to reach a settlement,” Cllr Jones said. “Up until the other week we were still meeting with them regularly and discussing the contract.

“We think what has been offered is very fair and we think it’s very disappointing that they feel otherwise.”

Cllr Roberts went on to say that he felt the price rises were fair: “They’re paying considerably less than other users of Bailey’s Court.

“I think it’s a little unfair to the taxpayers of Bradley Stoke that they are subsidising this group of people to a much greater extent than other community users.”

He added that the town council want to continue to talk about a new deal: “We will continue to negotiate for as long as there is hope but we do need to know who at the bowls club is pulling the strings.

“We’d like to think they can sit down and talk to us rationally as adults but so far it’s childish protests from them, I’m afraid.”

The row between Northavon Bowls Club and Bradley Stoke Town Council has now made the national press.

The BBC News website has covered the story reporting on the protest on Sunday, claiming it was caused by a proposed 50% rent rise to £2,300, and then 8% a year until 2012.

Read the full story here - we’ll be talking to the council later today on this website.

Northavon Bowls Club has hit back at Bradley Stoke Town Council saying the rental agreement offered to them does not give them “anywhere near the rights” they have under the current deal.

A club spokesperson told The Bradley Stoke Examiner the club was prepared to pay the rates asked for the next four years but did not want to hand over a “blank cheque” when the costs were due to be negotiated in 2012.

This follows a day of action from the club which saw them gain access to the bowls green at Bailey’s Court and try to play an impromptu game.

The spokesperson claimed the club was within its rights to hold the match: “Under the terms of our agreement we gained access to the green and took some photos of ourselves.

“We planned to play a game among club members but the police were called so we abandoned that.

“We were advised by South Gloucestershire Council that the town council was in breach of its agreement with us, and we were perfectly entitled to gain access because our agreement allows us access.”

The spokesperson went on to claim that the town council deal was not fair on the club and would mean costs could go up after the initial four years of the deal.

“The reason [the negotiations] have broken down is that they are trying to force us into signing an agreement which doesn’t give us anywhere near the rights we have in our current agreement and also gives them the right to charge us anything they like after the first four years of the term.

“The first four years we are prepared to pay what they’re asking, we don’t have a problem with that, but after that they say that they can charge us what they like and we’re not prepared to give them a blank cheque.”

The club faces eviction from their home at Bailey’s Court, having been asked to remove their equipment by the end of the month, if a solution is not found to the dispute.

A meeting between Northavon Bowls Club and Bradley Stoke Town Council may have ended the dispute over rental costs for the green at Bailey’s Court.

As we exlusively reported in December, the council was preparing to serve notice to the club to leave at the end of the season.

But “very successful discussions” on Monday saw “agreement on 99%” of issues between the two parties over rental costs, according to councillor Robert Jones.

Northavon Bowls Club are now due to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting this week before a final decision is issued at a council finance meeting next Wednesday.

A “frustrated” council could serve notice to Northavon Bowls Club to leave the green at Baileys Court, according to minutes of a recent meeting.

Bradley Stoke Town Council says although the club maintains the green the surrounding facilities are paid for by residents’ taxes.

The minutes claim that the council believes 80% of club members live outside of Bradley Stoke but it does not have an up-to-date member list.

Councillors Brian Hopkinson and Dr Elizabeth Todd suggested that “that after many hours of effort in accommodating” the club that they had been “frustrated at every turn and was therefore minded to give the Club notice at the end of the season”.

The minutes add that this could happen “unless the prevarication between members was resolved”.

A meeting of the council’s working party would convene before meeting with the clubs again.

- Minutes from Bradley Stoke Town Council (Word format)