THE MAN in charge of bowling greens in the town has moved to reassure clubs amid fears over their future.

Letters from Swindon Council calling clubs who use council-owned sites to a meeting have sparked concerns among the flat green bowling community.

But councillor Nick Martin (Shaw and Nine Elms, Con), cabinet member for Streetscene and parks, said: “I don’t want people to panic.”

Fears have been heightened after a recent numbers of closures and threats elsewhere, including the news that the historic green in Plymouth where Sir Francis Drake played bowls before defeating the Spanish Armada faces being transferred to community ownership.

Derek Watson, president of West End Bowls Club, said clubs did not know what to expect from the meeting.

The 67-year-old, who has played bowls for 30 years, said: “We don’t know what they have got in mind and you always think the worst.

“We had a committee meeting about it and we said we can’t really do anything until we find out what extent they are going to go to.

“Bowls is very important to the community and we have a huge social membership from all over the place. Our membership is about 50 to 60 and we also have around 60 skittlers who play regularly.”

Coun Martin said the meeting was being called to look at the budgets for green maintenance and also get the feedback of clubs.

He said the council currently forks out around £10,000 for each of its five greens and he wanted to look at exactly what the money was being spent on.

“There is no commitment to cut or increase fees,” he said.

“I think to say they are under threat is a very bad message - this is just indicative that every inch of the borough’s budget is being observed and we have to go through with a magnifying glass.

“We have got five greens and we probably subsidise them for £10,000 at a time. The clubs pay fees of around £3,000 a year and the council’s budget is £69,000 for the year.

“I want to check what the costs really are - what we spend on the greens and what is overheads.

“So we have called representatives of the clubs to discuss how many users we have got and ideas on ways to reduce costs.”

The five bowls clubs, West End, North End, Penhill, Town Gardens and Swindon County Ground are set to meet with council officers on June 15.