MEMBERS of Bournemouth Indoor Bowls Club have launched a petition to keep the site open after the council announced it would ‘suspend’ club services for 12 months from April 2023.
The petition against the closure of the Bournemouth Indoor Bowls Club is now live on the BCP Council website.
It currently has 260 signatures and will be open until January 31, 2023.
The club hopes to reach 2,000 signatures over the 60 days.
READ MORE: Bowls club pays BCP Council £45,000 rent for use of indoor ice rink
READ MORE: Council closes Bournemouth Indoor Bowls Club
The petition reads: ‘We, the undersigned, ask the council to postpone the notice to stop indoor bowls from 1 April 2023 at Bournemouth Indoor Bowls Center and allow indoor bowls to continue in the meantime while undertaking a review of the center.
“We wish to object to the decision to suspend the operation of indoor bowls for 12 months from April 1, 2023 at Bournemouth Indoor Bowls Centre.
“The club was opened in 1995 with the specific purpose of hosting indoor balls. It is an important community asset that allows many people to maintain their health and well-being.
“In addition to providing the opportunity to play sports, it also allows older members of the community to exercise and enjoy social interactions with others.”
Following the announcement of the closure, a member of the club wrote to the committee asking if they could pay an additional fee to keep the club open.
Bowling club member Jill Bryant said she had been told the committee would have to cover significant costs on top of the existing monthly rental fee paid by the club, which was in the region of £45,000 for the ‘current year.
She said: ‘As it stands the BCP board has been wasting revenue from the cafe and has been since May shutting it down all summer and so far since September we never know if it will be open or not.
“The pit stops are part of bowling when teams or competitors from other clubs come to our club for leagues or competitions. Football fans also used to come to the club for pre-match meals and/or drinks.
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