Members send plea to save under-threat bowls club

Members of a bowls club in Nottinghamshire have urged a council to reconsider closing the centre they call home.

Gedling Indoor Bowls Club opened in 1987 and has more than 300 members of various ages, from teenagers to people over 90.

Gedling Borough Council plans to close the Richard Herrod Centre, where the bowls club is based, and the Carlton Forum Leisure Centre and replace them with a new Carlton Active, which will include a swimming pool and a gym.

The club is known as the "birthplace of disability bowls", and hosts disability bowls tournaments.

The club currently leases the bowling green from the council.

Members said at first the Carlton Active plans included a reduced bowls provision, but in the latest plans there is no bowling green at all.

The council said this was "due to the proposed significant additional cost of providing a bowls provision at the new centre".

It said the Richard Herrod Centre had a subsidy worth more than £500,000 in 2024-25, though the bowls club's director said the costs did not relate to the club, which was financially sustainable.

The council held a public consultation on the plans in May and said the majority of respondents supported a new leisure centre, which could include an eight-lane swimming pool, a gym, community rooms, a cafe, and a soft play centre.

In September, the cabinet approved outline plans for the new centre, but last month the authority deferred a final decision on the plans after members of the club presented a petition with 1,200 signatures.

The decision will go back to cabinet in February 2026.

Director of the club Ian Summerscales said the potential closure was "devastating".

He added: "We would be happy to work with the council to look at providing us with a facility to continue with indoor bowls.

"It's quite concerning to us that this won't be considered until February next year, when our lease expires in April.

"There is a risk to our members. People's lives could be shortened through this if they don't have social interaction.

"We have had members in tears and we do believe quite genuinely that it is detrimental to their health."

Len Knight, 65, has bowled in Gedling for 20 years and said it had helped him with depression and anxiety.

"I was referred for talking therapy and I was told to carry on playing bowls," he said.

"It was part of my therapy and I had to write weekly reports. The people are so friendly.

"Bowls has helped me mentally and physically. It's not just a sport, it's a therapy."

Maggy Smith has been a member since the club first opened and received an MBE for services to disability bowls.

"In 1998 there were bowlers with cerebral palsy and amputee bowlers and we really needed to get together," she said.

"It's had a tremendous impact and it encouraged other clubs to welcome disabled people into their clubs."

She said finding out about the council's plans was "a shock".

She added: "I was absolutely gutted. The nearest club is Nottingham and the next nearest is Erewash.

"It's a disgrace. If they're putting a pool and a gym in that's aimed at younger people. There aren't many sports which are so inclusive."

Carole Andrews, bowls secretary at the club, has been a member since 1994.

"The club means everything to me. After Covid we lost a lot of members and we've worked our socks off to build our membership up to better than it was before Covid," she said. "This is their lifeline."

A Gedling Borough Council spokesperson said it was providing support to the club.

They said the authority considered including indoor bowls in the new centre plans, but it was not affordable alongside the other proposals.

A consultation found the public wanted a swimming pool more.

"We also acknowledge the important role that the Richard Herrod Centre has played in supporting disability bowls," the spokesperson added.

"Our commitment is to continue working constructively with the bowls club, partners and local residents while cabinet considers the petition and next steps in February."

They added an assessment of other sites that could be turned into a new bowls club had been completed, but Mr Summerscales said the alternative sites were "clearly unaffordable" for the club.

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