Bowled over as club members get digging

A team of up to 10 club members have been out on the site in the park with diggers and tools as they prepare the foundations for the building.

It follows months of fundraising to be able to afford the £30,000 building which will provide larger premises for the club, with its own kitchen and disabled toilets.

Club secretary Diane Turner said members are doing a lot of the work themselves to save costs.

She said: “We desperately needed a new clubhouse as the old one was falling down.

“We explored many funding options last year, but due to the funding cuts everywhere we decided it was not going to happen.

“We originally had two quotes for a new building. One was for a quarter of a million pounds, and another was for £350,000. The other people did not bother getting back to us.

“So we decided to fundraise ourselves and we’ve been doing it like mad, selling jam and chutney, books and everything we can think of.

“We’ve had full planning permission for the new clubhouse from East LindseyDistrict Council.

“The members have been out on the site, digging their hearts out.

“They’ve been getting the site cleared and ready for the new building. We’ve also taken down the old building ourselves.”

When the new prefabricated timber building arrives it will be put together by its suppliers.

Mrs Turner, whose husband Peter has been helping with the groundwork, added: “Once the new clubhouse is up we’ll be painting and decorating it ourselves, too.

“You get a lot of camaraderie pulling together to get the job done.

“We’ve had the building inspectors out to check the site.

“Everybody’s really pitched in. All you need are some strong muscles!”

It’s hoped the new building, which will overlook the bowling green on the site of the former clubhouse, will be up by November.

The bowling club was founded in the late 1960s and offers social bowling as well as formal club competitions.

Games are played home and away, with the club year running April to September.