Overseal Bowls Club grant boost hope to keep out lost footballers
A Bowls club could be given a £12,000 boost towards fencing in a bid to keep wandering footballers away
Overseal Bowls Club is to apply to Awards for All for a fence surrounding its green, costing around £12,000, after complaining that footballers from a nearby pitch were trampling on its green while retrieving footballs.
Steve Bigg, president of the bowls club, told members of the parish council at its latest meeting that football studs were churning up the green when players were fetching the balls.
The green is currently surrounded by a hedge which will remain in place. He was asked to present his case at the meeting after the parish council revealed it had spent more than £2,000 on height restriction barriers to keep out travellers. Members were concerned about more unplanned costs.
He said: "We are still suffering with people coming on to the green to retrieve footballs and with football studs churning up the grass.
"We cannot get a new green as that would cost about £70,000 so the best thing we can do to keep people off it is to have a fence.
"One quote is for £9,975 plus VAT and we have £1,300 in the bank. We want to apply to Awards for All for a £10,000 grant but need to know if the parish council would help us with a grant of £2,500 in the next financial year.
"The hedge is getting beyond our control."
Parish council chairman Carole Knight said: "We talked about the great expense we had with the travellers, but if it is the next financial year then that is a different matter."
Parish councillor Mark Knight said: "They are trying to make it look more attractive." The council has pledged £2,500 and will cut the hedge.
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