Dudley bowling club members fed up after young footballers ruin green

About 20 pensioners usually meet on Tuesday and Friday afternoons at the Priory Park Bowling Green in Dudley to enjoy a game.

However, this year they claim they are unable to do so because of damage to the green.

They also claim that despite contacting Dudley North MP Marco Longhi and Dudley Council two years ago, nothing has been done to improve the area.

Thelma Davies, aged 84, from Dudley, said: “I am so upset that the bowling green is unplayable because of having been used as a football ground.

“There used to be two bowling greens on the park but now there is only the one and this year it just cannot be used.”

Thelma’s partner, Barry Marsh, aged 76, said that he was also upset about damage to the green.

Now Thelma’s daughter, Penny Davies, aged 56, from Gornal, has contacted the MP again to ask for something to be done to restore the green.

She is also contacting Dudley Council and calling for action to repair the bowling green.

Penny said: “In 2020 the MP and a representative from the council came and had a meeting with the bowlers.

“They promised to relay the turf and to restore a five-a-side pitch for the children and said that they would look at providing fencing around the bowling green.

“However, this did not happen and it is like a quagmire and the green is impossible to use for bowling. The pensioners were due to start playing again this month.”

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader elect of Dudley Council, said: “Priory Park is a park that Dudley Council and the local community is rightly immensely proud of and boasts a rich history. It is a much-loved space for people to exercise, enjoy green space and relax.

“We share the bitter disappointment of our local residents and bowling club members that the green has been vandalised and misused in this senseless way.

“We will continue to support the police in their work to tackle acts of vandalism on any of our parks.”