The Novice Shield took place on Sunday 28th May at WBC. Yet again we ere blessed with sunny skies and a good turnout of 16.
The final saw Howard Riscatti defeat Alan Truelove – losing semi-finalists were Tina McGlynn and Ernie.
Many thanks to Les Cropper for organising and running the event
The Tony Walton Handicap Trophy was held on Sunday 7th May.
Tony was unable to attend himself but kindly donated to the prize fund and the day was blessed by sunshine and some close matches.
This year’s winner was Tony Martin, who edged out Dave Booth 21-18 in the final.
Our losing semi-finalists were Martin McBurnie and Gary Veevers.
Our next competition date is the Novices Shield on May 28th, open to all beginners and novice bowlers.
We couldn’t have done this without you!
We have managed to get the club building underpinned by a specialist company. We now have assurance that we have halted any further movement.
We now continue to seek grants and funds for the roof replacement and installation of photovoltaic panels to reduce our carbon footprint and save costs.
We are committed to seeking support via every avenue to rebuild the premises and offer more accommodation to community activity, training and development. We are about to embark on a continual youth training and experience programme to offer access and a springboard to employment.
We are delighted to take Nathan Scully on as our first “work experience” trainee.
We will keep you advised on accessing this programme as we do intend to commit money and time to bring as much benefit to local youth as we are able.
We are pleased to announce that we have now completed the construction and implementation of the new Management Committee to take the club through to April 2025.
The new committee members are:
Plus the four existing directors:
We will arrange a full committee meeting in April to determine direction and strategy.
We welcome your input as members, please contact any of the above committee members with any thoughts, comments or issues you would like us to address.
Due to the continued wet weather in the forecast and the adverse effects on the green, we are sorry to announce that the beginners sessions on Saturday morning will stop until the 6th of May 2023.
Please accept our sincere apologies but we have to ensure the playing surface is protected until the weather improves.
We are disappointed with last week’s news (click to read the letter) that we (WBCCIC) have been turned down for government funding to refurbish our club. We have worked for over a year to prepare the detail, reports, supporting evidence and continuation and demonstration of our community value and commitment.
Our MP, The Rt Hon Christian Wakeford and his team have been supporting us throughout the bid and wrote directly to the levelling up office on our behalf.
We were supported by Bury Voluntary and Faith Alliance and a special mention to Sally Deith and her valued assistance at the beginning. We are all aware that the Club House structurally is in a perilous condition and the very fact that it may not be in existence in another three years is a very real possibility.
We will not let our 134 year history fade, we wont let the value and spirit of this community facility dissapear as the case with other community facilities.
We are preparing to seek further support from the Government department and will discuss with Bury council and BVFA how they can support us to return a bid that does succeed
Formal Notice is given that the Directors of Whitefield Bowling Club Community Interest Company have called a meeting (special resolution) for Saturday the 18th of March at 14:00. All fully paid-up Members (as of the 1st of March 2023) are invited to attend to discuss and vote on the following (no guests or non-members): –
Subject to Article 47.3, a written resolution of the Company passed in accordance with this Article 47 shall have effects if passed by the Company in general meeting: A written resolution is passed as an ordinary resolution if it is passed by a simple majority of the total voting rights of eligible members. A written resolution is passed as a special resolution if it is passed by members representing not less than 75% of the total voting rights of eligible members. A written resolution is not a special resolution unless it states that it was proposed as a special resolution.
Manchester City Council conducted a review of public bowling greens across the region to look at saving costs associated with the ongoing maintenance,
The decision was taken to close a number of greens that were not being use, saving the council close to £100k.
Read the review document – click here.
You will see the scaffolding support is still in position and continues to restrict movement and access. The subsidence dictates that this remains in position to slow the movement and subsequent damage to our 130-year-old building. We are continually monitoring the structure and measuring movement for safety and risk. As per previous updates we are still searching for funding and a solution to the problem.
As part of our risk management strategy and to minimise any possible impact, we have restricted use of the building over the summer months. It is our intent to limit the number of Memberships again for 2023 in recognition of the problem. The
membership policy will be amended and updated with numbers and methodology we will apply to applicants.
We have continued to move forward with three possible routes to ensure we have a home:
First to completely rebuild (drawing and plans displayed) that delivered our needs for day-to-day use but also allowed more facilities for the community and partners. With hikes in interest rates and a market that has become extremely nervous the costs of delivering this has become unrealistic.
Second for rebuilding with two apartments for rent on the first floor and this is still an option and you will see the figures on the business plan and we do have a set of drawings and design ready for funding. This would be a longer term project.
The third (and preferred) bid is with the Governments Homes and Communities Department for the refurbishment of the building. If this is successful, we would need to deliver the work programmes within a 12 month period. While this absolutely saves the building it would mean that there would be no access to the building for 12 months. Any members, the public and partners could not use the property, and this is important in your decision making when applying for in membership 2023.
The green will remain open and safe from building works whichever option we take via screening and safety barriers, shelters and facilities would be in situ.
Current membership for 2022 will run until the end of the year, from January 1st 2023 we will be introducing the following membership categories.
£25 – Full Bowling Membership
Full use of bowling green during the season (March – Sept) and full use of clubhouse facilities throughout the year.
£20 – Social Member – Aged 18-66
Full use of clubhouse facilities throughout the year. Social members are welcome to attend our free beginner bowling sessions on Saturday mornings and can upgrade to a full bowling membership at any time.
£15 – Social Member – Aged 67 and over
Full use of clubhouse facilities throughout the year. Social members are welcome to attend our free beginner bowling sessions on Saturday mornings and can upgrade to a full bowling member at any time.
FREE – Community Membership
Our free community membership embraces the ethos of our club. It is aimed at anyone, regardless of age, who would like to use our facilities at WBC throughout the year but may not be in a financial position to join through one of our paid membership packages. Community members are welcome to attend our free beginner bowling sessions on Saturday mornings and are permitted to bowl at any time when the green is free. Access to our clubhouse is allowed throughout the year. Please note, community membership does not allow the use of our licensed bar to purchase alcoholic drinks. Allocation of community membership is at the discretion of the Directors of WBC CIC.
FREE – Junior Members – 0-18
Junior membership is free of charge for anyone under 18. It allows under 18s access to the bowling green when supervised by an adult (safeguarding policy) or during junior bowling sessions, club events, fitness courses and also access to the clubhouse to purchase non-alcoholic drinks and snacks.
FREE – Other activities available to the community at WBC
Our Digital awareness and training sessions are open to all the community and free to attend – dates and times TBC.
Our allotments are open to all the community but have a long waiting list, please contact grounds committee member.
Our “Call in and Chat” support sessions are open to all the community – dates and times TBC