A clutch of council-owned Angus bowling clubs could be threatened by new moves to put facilities across the area on a level playing field.
Councillors have agreed to look at standardising lease arrangements at authority-owned greens after a report revealed a hotchpotch of arrangements for rental and maintenance and no formal agreement in the case of three Montrose-area facilities now feared to be facing an uncertain future.
Thriving clubs are paying thousands of pounds of annual rent to the council, with many solely responsible for their own annual running costs.
In other cases, the in-kind subsidy equates to £600 per member per annum and critics say the council is not in a position to continue that level of support.
One councillor described the situation as a ”scandal.”
Corporate services director Eric Lowson put a report before corporate services committee members detailing the varied arrangements with the bowling clubs, from minutes of agreement and 99-year leases to the absence of any proper formal arrangement with Hillside and Rossie Island and Melville greens in Montrose.
”It is proposed that the occupation of council bowling greens be standardised… to ensure that within three to four years all tenants who have had access to bowling land and buildings are treated equally.
“A number of the bowling clubs will face higher charges, albeit it is proposed to apply a three-year phasing-in period.”
Montrose member and committee vice-convener Bill Duff said: ”This situation is a bit of a scandal.
”The public have been paying £15,000 a year to maintain the greens and these clubs have been merrily going along charging their members and not paying anything.
”At a time when we are talking about removing playparks, I think it is outrageous that people should be paying £15,000 a year for the upkeep of clubs which have only 24 members.”
Corporate services convener Alex King said: ”It is essential that we look at this and try to get all the clubs on the same footing.
”The £15,000 a year is an in-kind figure for maintenance , it’s not cash, but nevertheless we cannot continue to be subsidising them in this way.
”We are far from the stage of forcing clubs to close, the first step is to speak to the clubs to sort this situation out,” he added.
Montrose councillor David May fears the death knell may sound for at least one of the local greens, after his initial discussions with the clubs.
”I’m very concerned indeed about this and my fear is that the long-term effect may be that this will lead to closures. If that was the case, what would the cost to the council be?
”I’ve spoken to the clubs and their concern is that if this is passed then some of the members on the basic pension or benefits would have to stop playing and that would lead to closure through lack of numbers.
”For a lot of them it is not just about a game of bowling, it is their main social lifeline. People are linked to their clubs and may have been for many years.
”I can understand the basis for standardising arrangements but perhaps we could look for a standardisation based on membership,” he said.
Councillors approved consultation with the clubs, which the director said would give some eight months’ notice for greens to consider the implications of the proposed changes and examine new funding or other arrangements.