Elderly left 'disgusted' as bowling clubs face £12k fee increase

The cash-strapped council, which needs to save £20 million by 2018, currently pays around £12,000 a year to maintain the greens at each of Dudley's eight bowling clubs.

Clubs themselves pay only £750 towards those costs.

But council chiefs now say they can no longer afford to subsidise the costs, leaving clubs facing a massive bill.

Bosses have said that if clubs decide to set up a trust then they can apply for external funding to help them out.

Dennis Joshua from Dudley Sports Bowling Club in Kingswinford today said he was furious at the proposed move.

The 79-year-old said: "We are elderly people who come here to socialise and have a go at bowling and now its like we're being told we've got to find £12,000 a year or mow the green ourselves.

"It is absolutely disgusting.

"We currently pay £750 a year and now they are increasing it to this - its nothing like £5 or £10 more a week but its an astronomical rise."

Local campaigner Abdul Qadus from Lye said the potential hike in costs at Wollescote Park in Stourbridge was 'disgraceful'.

"Clubs are going to struggle to pay it and are going to face some seriously difficult situations," he said.

"It isn't on."

Dudley councillor Hilary Bills, who is in charge of environmental services, defended the proposal and said clubs need to face the 'truth' over the situation.

"Unfortunately the council will not have the money to support or help when it comes to activities like this," she said.

"Officers are going around the bowling clubs and giving them the truth about how subsided they are and the fact that this can't continue and the council will not be able to fund anything.

"We will continue to support the users of the greens. However, these are unprecedented times for all councils and we have to look at different ways of managing services in the face of continued reductions in funding from national government.

"We are trying to give them options, for instance either being a in a trust or asset transfer, as then they could go and get funding."

In relation to Dudley Sports Bowling Club, she added: "We are trying our best to come up with a method to help them but if they want to keep their bowling green open they must come up with a way."