Celebrations as Leeds Council scraps plan to close half of bowling greens in the city

Late in 2020, the council set out plans to close half of the greens as part of a process of robust financial planning to find savings which meet a £119m deficit.

Leeds Council announced its budget plans last night - set to be finalised at a full debate on February 24.

The report revealed a u-turn on plans to close half of the greens - with the "original proposal revised such that no bowling greens will close."

The annual price of a season ticket may now increase instead, following the consultation period.

The report states: "Originally a 50% reduction in the number of bowling greens provided by the Council was proposed with an estimated saving of £83k p.a.

"This was to be achieved through community asset transfers or through the direct removal of greens.

"Following consultation, the original proposal will be revised such that no bowling greens will close.

"Positive engagement will continue on possible asset transfers where this is preferred and additional income will be generated through increasing the annual price of a season ticket from £31 to £40 as recommended by some respondents to the consultation.

"This recognises that there hasn't been an increase since 2016 and is estimated to generate £12.5k p.a."

Jonathan Taylor, Conservative Leeds City Councillor representing Horsforth & Rawdon, said he was pleased 'voices' from cross-party councillors and those who 'enjoy bowls' had been heard.

He tweeted: "Pleased to learn that Leeds Labour have u-turned on the proposal to half the number of public bowling greens across Leeds.

"Cllrs from Outer North West wrote, cross party, with our views in December.

"I’m pleased our voices, and those who enjoy bowls, have been heard."

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis said: “We are required to make decisions at a time when COVID-19 makes future planning uncertain and this budget particularly difficult. We know that COVID-19 will continue to have an ongoing financial impact and that it will be difficult to provide the same council services without changing the way we work.

“Over the last ten years we have balanced our budget despite reductions in funding that have seen a total of £2billion of government grants taken away from funding our council services. The recent government spending review failed to provide sufficient funding for adult social care or to fully close the gap caused by pressures associated with COVID-19. We of course continue to lobby the government in attempts to find more funding to reduce the impact of budget pressures on services.

“We have been left with a particularly steep mountain to climb this year in terms of the savings we have had to find. We have listened to residents views about what is important to them and revisited our proposals where possible to ensure they are representative of those views.

“Unfortunately we have already seen a number of experienced colleagues leave the council the impact of which will continue to be felt as more leave over the coming year. These are incredibly difficult times for Leeds City Council and none of these recommendations have been made lightly. Staff are showing incredible resilience and continues to work hard for the city. I would like to offer each a big thank you for their on-going efforts.”

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