Gullivers Bowls Club in Bexhill is in dire straits financially

I am writing in response to the ill informed remarks of Arthur Valenzuela in the Bexhill Observer.

Mr Valenzuela fills his rhetoric with several misinformed remarks and the people of Bexhill need to know the true facts.

Gullivers Bowls Club is in dire straits financially and cannot afford to renovate their premises without selling off part of their land. This is the first point. Whether Queen Elizabeth I bequeathed it to the Sackvilles is irrelevant, as it was bought by our benefactor, Charles Gulliver and turned into a bowls club in 1951. This land belongs to the bowls club and the money is being provided by the sale of part of their land. This is not a ‘hand out’ from the local council and we are financing the whole operation ourselves, with the help of Court Developments.

When all the work is finished, GBC will have very little money left over from the sale. Probably no more than a few thousand pounds. To say that we are doing this “it is thought, to render a profit” is absolute tosh.

We would not sell off part of our land in the hope that we may make a profit of £4,000 or thereabouts. I hope people can understand that … even if Mr V does not.

Many outdoor bowls clubs in England rely on their local councils to pay for the upkeep of their greens. It may interest readers to know that the upkeep of a bowls green costs per year between £7,500 - £10,000.

How many season tickets at £90 PA do you need to sell to pay the cost of maintaining those greens? The average outdoor bowls club has approx. 40 members or thereabouts.

GBC is a private club and RDC does not pay a penny towards the upkeep of our bowls green or our club. We pay for everything ourselves. Hence the necessity to sell off part of our land. This sale of land will ensure GBC survives for another 100 years and it will become a focal point for other pursuits, such as Bridge, Chess and our bar/catering facilities could also be used by the local community.

We also have a Junior bowls section and, in 2019, two of our juniors won the Sussex Under 25 Pairs Championship (Brandon Hutchison & Jack Till). So we are able to cater for bowlers of all generations and all levels of performance.

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