Ultimatum in bowls club fee row

Police have already attended one protest bowls match

A bowls club locked in a bitter row over an increase in fees has been given a deadline to pay up or move out.

Bradley Stoke Town Council wants to increase the fees paid by Northavon bowls club for using Baileys Court.

It has already locked them out of the ground and has now issued an ultimatum to sign a deal by mid-May.

The council, which rents the ground to the club, wants to increase fees by some 50% to £2,300, and then 8% a year for the next four years.

The club said the move may see them close down because it cannot afford the proposed rise.

At a special meeting this week, Bradley Stoke councillors rejected a plea to allow South Gloucestershire Council to arbitrate in the increasingly rancorous dispute.

Bowls club chair woman Margaret Thompson said she was "very disappointed".

"I thought they would be more magnanimous and I thought that they would see a way forward to support the bowls club."

But Mayor Julian Barge said: "We have been trying to work with the club for over a year now and that has been about coming to an agreement.

"If the will is not there to work together it does not matter who arbitrates."

Earlier this year, police were called after members of the bowls club staged a protest match at the ground.