Last-ditch bid to save ‘lifeline’ indoor bowls club from closure

FACILITY HAS BEEN EXCLUDED FROM COUNCIL'S PLANS FOR NEW LEISURE CENTRE

- By LAUREN MONAGHAN Local Democracy Reporter

A LAST-DITCH bid to save an indoor bowls club has been launched after council bosses confirmed it would be excluded from new leisure centre plans.

The fate of Gedling Indoor Bowls Club has been in limbo since September after Gedling Borough Council decided to no longer include it in plans to replace Carlton Forum Leisure Centre and the Richard Herrod Centre with a new building.

‘The project would involve a new “Carlton Active” leisure and community facility on the Richard Herrod site which could include an eight-lane swimming pool and teaching pool, a 100-station gym, community rooms and a café.

Members of the bowls club have been protesting for months to safeguard the club’s future but a report to councillors, published ahead of tomorrow's meeting, reconfirms the authority does not plan to retain indoor bowls in its plans.

This, the authority says, is due to “significant affordability, design and deliverability risks”.

Councillor Darren Maltby (Con), speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), branded the decision a “complete and utter travesty”.

Councillor Maltby has started a petition to include bowls at the new centre.

At the time of writing, it had 197 signatures.

He said: “I come from a welfare background for over 20 years and I've seen the impact closing facilities have on vulnerable people - not just the elderly, but also disabled people.