Hexham bowling alley plan sparks anger
Plans to build a ten-pin bowling alley on the home of a Northumberland sports club are to be fought by outraged members, who say it will signal their demise.
North Country Leisure (NCL), managers of the Wentworth Leisure Centre at Hexham, has announced plans to create an eight-lane £600,000 bowling alley on the facility's bowls hall, funded by Northumberland County Council, with building work to begin in Spring 2010.
But the move has outraged Tynedale Indoors Bowl Club, which hosts league matches and competitions in the hall and will be left homeless.
Club bosses say they have not been consulted over the proposal and were simply summonsed to a meeting on Sunday night at which the news was broken.
The 168-member club says it has been told to be out of the centre by the end of its current season in April and claims it has been offered no help in finding a new home. Bosses say the club will not be able to find premises by then, with the nearest alternative facility at West Denton in Newcastle, and insist it will fold.
They are vowing to do all they can to stop the hall being redeveloped.
The club says ten-pin bowling is not a sport and would be better sited in an entertainment complex than a leisure centre.
But NCL says that the hall is underused and that income from the bowlers is small.
It claims the new development will bring in more money for the centre and be an exciting project for Hexham.
Last night David Ashworth, 71, of Iveson Road, Hexham, club coach and committee member, said: "We really are absolutely devastated by it. It has come as a complete shock."
John Maude, chief executive of NCL, said: "We are very conscious that this will take away the existing indoor bowling green facility and naturally have sympathy for the existing bowls users.
"However, a significant factor in our decision has been a long term steady reduction in users of the bowls hall from 14,399 in 1999 to 7,597 in 2009. We have not made this proposal lightly."
NCL says the hall takes up 27% of the floor space in the building but generates less than 4% of its income, with just under 2% of that from indoor bowls - just under £20,000 a year.
It claims the alley will be used by around 10,000 people a year, making a total of 36,500 visits.
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I personnally think it is a fantasic idea, but the only down fall is the size of the proposed centre. To make it more profitable, the amount of lanes should be 16, otherwise a constent waiting list at weekend's will be in place. The surrounding areas covering a radius of approx 20-30 miles after publication in local papers and advertisements will create a very high interest. I would also like to apply for the managerial postition when you have applications available.
I would also like to say that it has been along time coming. There is nothing like this from Newcsatle to Carlisle to which people have to travel to be entertained. It is also a world wide sport may I add.