Please help us save Gullivers Bowls Club

I am writing this letter out of sheer frustration regarding the absolute lies and nonsense that is now being branded about regarding the proposed development at Gullivers Bowls Club. Just this weekend, I heard a rumour going around the town that GBC has many thousands of pounds in the bank and that the club has plenty of money to rebuild/refurbish the premises without the need to sell off any land. All I can say to that is : I WISH !

Gullivers Bowls Club is a totally self-supporting bowls club with around 100 members and the cost alone, to maintain our outdoor bowls green, is in the region of £8,000 per annum for the summer season alone.

With increased fuel charges, we have no idea what the cost will be for the heating and lighting to sustain our indoor bowling season on the two rink indoor green we have.

The objectors to our proposed development have no idea what they are wishing for, so my message to them would be, be careful what you wish for!

Many of us at the club can understand why no one in the area wanted 39 flats being built on the Knole Road frontage, blocking their light and spoiling the view for 82 flats. However, to object to 8 tastefully built, attractive mews cottages being built on a derelict back piece of land , which has not been used for over 20 years, is not right. If this project goes ahead, there will still be a delightful view of the wonderful bowling green next to Knole Road, plus it will retain a sports facility for the local community, which will be there for players of all ages and could be used by disabled bowlers as well. The new facilities could also be used by chess, bridge, pool clubs and other local community groups. Why would anyone object to this ?

What is the alternative if the project does not go ahead?

The alternative is that, in as little as five years, when the repairs needed are so bad and desperate that we cannot keep the club going, when the volunteers from the club membership continue to decline, we will be forced to close. The site will be boarded up and it will eventually become derelict. When this happens, there will be no community asset at all. This green space will be sold, in its entirety, to a developer.

People will then say. “Oh, what a shame ! It was so lovely walking past there in the summer, watching the players in their lovely outfits, playing bowls on the green. If only we had known this would happen. What a shame it’s gone now.”

Please help us save Gullivers Bowls Club, in the only way we know how - by selling off part of our land to raise funds to repair the club and indoor rinks.

Please send your letters to [email protected]. Letters must be accompanied by a full name and address. Anonymous letters are never printed. We reserve the right to edit letters for any reason.