Stourbridge Croquet Club facing closure over fees rise
Members of a croquet club fear they may have to fold following controversial plans to increase bowling green maintenance fees across the borough.
It means that players at Stourbridge Croquet Club could be left maintaining the green themselves or paying up to £12,000 in maintenance fees as cash-strapped Dudley Council tries to save £20 million by 2018.
Stourbridge Croquet Club, whose green is based at Mary Stevens Park, is one of the eight greens across the borough under target.
Phil Bate, aged 66, who has been chairman of the club for the past five years, said that members were devastated that they could potentially be left with maintenance costs.
"It is ridiculous," he said. "Paying £12,000 a year for maintenance of lawns is just something we could not do - it is devastating.
"I understand that they need to make savings but it feels like they are targeting the wrong people.
"There are elderly members at both the croquet and bowling club that see coming out to play as the highlight of their week - the last thing they would need is to maintain it too," he added.
The club currently has 17 members, all of them above the age of 55 including two people in their 80s.
However, at a meeting held last Tuesday, it was brought to light that covenants dating back almost 90 years for the park could over-rule council plans.
Campaigners argued that under a deed of gift for Mary Stevens Park, dated 1929, Dudley Council is obligated to maintain the greens.
Speaking about the deed of gift, Mr Bate, added: "The council need to look into this but I still fear that we may need a Plan B as they could wriggle out of it."
Russ Newey, Dudley Council greencare manager, said at the meeting: "We are not just targeting here but all the users of greens in the borough.
"It costs £12,000 a year to maintain a bowling green with repairs and maintenance costs.
"It will not be straightforward but we need to be more creative in how we maintain these services in the future," he added.
Clubs in the borough themselves pay only £750 towards those costs but council chiefs now say they can no longer afford to subsidise the costs, leaving club members facing a massive bill.
