Bowls club facing closure despite petition

An indoor bowls club is set to close to make way for a new leisure centre in Nottinghamshire despite a petition to save it.

Gedling Indoor Bowls Club, based at the Richard Herrod Centre in Nottinghamshire, opened nearly four decades ago and has hosted thousands of sessions.

The club launched a petition in 2025 after Gedling Borough Council proposed to replace its home with a new leisure facility called Carlton Active.

But council documents published ahead of a cabinet meeting on 19 February have confirmed plans for Carlton Active will go ahead without indoor bowls provision.

Ian Summerscales, the director of the bowls club, said the club was "devastated" by the council's decision.

According to documents, the council plans to close the centre in May, after the club's lease at the Richard Herrod Centre ends in April.

The council held a public consultation on its plan for the new facility - which would also replace the nearby Carlton Forum Leisure Centre - in May 2025.

It previously said the majority of respondents supported a new leisure centre.

An indoor bowls provision was initially considered in proposals for Carlton Active but was later ruled out due to "affordability, design and deliverability risks", according to council documents.

Members of the bowls club launched a petition in 2025 urging the council to reconsider its plans and retain indoor bowling as part of its redevelopment.

However, an assessment of the plans concluded that the incorporation of a bowls hall would "necessitate the reduction of removal of other essential elements of the leisure centre" and was not considered a "financial viable and sustainable model", the documents said.

Summerscales told the BBC he believed the council's consultation had not been "meaningful".

The club, which is run by volunteers, has more than 300 members of various ages, from teenagers to people older than 90.

It has also been described as the "birthplace of disability bowls", hosting numerous bowls tournaments for people with disabilities.

Most of the members, Summerscales said, were elderly.

"We are really worried about the impact on their social lives and the social isolation this could lead to," he said. "It's a bit of an emotional time at the moment. We've had messages from people saying how devastated they are.

"The thing is, there are very few indoor bowls facilities in this part of the country.

"[Others] are a considerable distance from our members and many of them will just not be able to play anymore."

Gedling Borough Council said there was "ongoing engagement" with the bowls club and potential alternative venues had been explored.

The authority's chief executive Mike Hill said: "We understand the strength of feeling and we remain committed to supporting the future of bowls in Gedling.

"But we also have a duty to deliver a sustainable, modern and inclusive leisure centre for the whole community.

"It is essential that residents can see decisions are being made transparently, responsibly and with the full evidence in view."

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