PRESS RELEASE (5th November 25)

Gedling Borough Council’s Leisure Transformation Plan:

A Reckless Attack on Indoor Bowling and Local Communities

A petition containing over 1000 signatures is being presented to Gedling Borough Council at their full Council Meeting on Wednesday 12 November.

The aim of the petition is to stop Gedling Borough Council from pressing ahead with plans to redevelop the Richard Herrod Centre which excludes indoor bowling entirely — a move Gedling Indoor Bowling Club campaigners are calling “financially reckless, strategically flawed, and socially destructive.”

Despite overwhelming community opposition, professional evidence challenging the Council’s consultation process, and a strategy riddled with contradictions, unsupported claims and speculative financing the Council is expected to rush through this decision and give final approval for their plans in January 2026.

Key Concerns Raised

Lack of Evidence & Transparency

* The “updated Leisure Strategy” is referenced but no evidence base is published. Cabinet is being asked to rely on invisible research.

* In response to a Freedom of Information Act request for specific details of the brief provided to their consultants the response was opaque, citing the basis on which their consultants were briefed, but providing no detail of communications between the parties involved.

* Consultation results from 2025 are cited but not disclosed. Decisions are being made on unseen data.

* The headline claim that Richard Herrod requires a subsidy of £515,147 has been challenged and responses to Freedom of Information Act requests are inconsistent and are difficult to reconcile to this figure.

* Similarly details of excessive staffing costs provided for Richard Herrod are inconsistent and range from £349,200 to £363,800 plus £96,500 of “Central Support & Admin” recharges. Again, responses to Freedom of Information Act requests are inconsistent and are difficult to reconcile to these figures.

Misleading Financial Case

* Carlton Forum — a profitable, popular centre with nearly 2,500 gym members — is portrayed as failing, while its success is ignored.

* A speculative £24.5m–£50m spend is presented without a repayment model or secured funding.

* Borrowing assumptions are built on “phantom efficiencies” and inflated projections of membership growth (50% in three years).

* Bowling is deliberately priced out, with consultants engineering costings to make its inclusion appear unaffordable.

Consultant-Led Predetermination

* The strategy is driven by Max Associates and Alliance Leisure Services UK — consultants with vested interests in further contracts.

* Their reports rely on selective data, circular logic, and “fantasy accounting” rather than independent scrutiny.

* Community protests have been ignored, with bowls participation figures downplayed despite clear demand.

Social Impact

* Indoor bowling — a lifeline for older and disabled residents — is being eliminated under the guise of “non-financial support,” a token gesture that amounts to displacement.

* Pensioners have called the closure “a death sentence at my age.”

* The plan forces residents to travel across the borough for basic leisure, increasing costs, congestion, and social isolation.

Environmental & Legal Risks

* The Council claims carbon alignment while proposing demolition and rebuild — the most environmentally damaging option — with no carbon assessment disclosed.

* Withdrawal from joint-use sites cannot happen without the consent of Nottinghamshire County Council, Redhill Academy Trust, and possibly the Secretary of State for Education. Cabinet is being misled about its authority.

A Pattern of Closure by Stealth

The evidence suggests a clear underlying strategy:

• Evict the bowls club.

• Run down and close Carlton Forum.

• Concentrate leisure into two “hubs” built on speculative finance.

• Leave communities like Calverton facing eventual closure and enforced travel.

This is not community investment — it is centralisation, displacement, and risk on a massive scale.

Call for Action

A spokesperson for the Gedling Indoor Bowls Club states:

“This strategy is the worst-conceived and highest-risk scheme I have ever seen placed before Cabinet. It relies on concealed data, consultant spin, and financial guesswork, while ignoring protests, and the clear demand for bowls. Elderly and vulnerable residents are being abandoned in the pursuit of vanity projects.”

They added:

“Gedling residents and taxpayers are being dragged towards tens of millions of pounds of debt, with no credible plan for repayment and no real community mandate.”

Conclusion

Gedling Borough Council’s Leisure Transformation Programme is a betrayal of local communities, a financial time bomb, and a direct attack on indoor bowling.

Campaigners and councillors are calling for:

• Full disclosure of consultation data and financial models.

• Independent scrutiny of Max Associates and their methodology.

• Immediate suspension of closure plans until genuine, transparent consultation is undertaken.

• Protection of bowls as a successful, growing sport that provides vital health and social benefits.

This is not progress — it is predetermination. Gedling deserves better.

Contact: Ian Summerscales (Director)

Gedling Indoor Bowls Centre Ltd

Richard Herrod Centre,

Foxhill Road, Carlton,

Nottingham. NG4 1RL