East Parade Bowling Club

In the Autumn of 2019 East Parade Bowling Club (Rhyl) embarked on an improvement programme on and off the green.

A club development plan was produced identifying participation opportunities together with much needed pavilion upgrades. Plans were drawn up, consultation undertaken with club members, community users and schools regarding priority needs; Denbighshire County Council were consulted as land / building owners and quotes obtained for development costs. Next task was to identify and secure external funding to help meet the club’s financial shortfall for the project. 

An established relationship with Gwynt y Môr Community Fund administrators led to discussions over the Winter of 2019-20 culminating in a grant application being submitted to the fund in March 2020. A successful outcome quickly turned sour as Covid stuck!

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Grand plans to deliver a schools programme and attract new junior players dissolved overnight. Commencement dates for pavilion’s refurbishment were shelved with building works immediately suspended. Start stop headaches together with increasing material costs proved a real challenge for club officials throughout 2020, the project manager keeping Gwynt y Môr staff informed of delays. Having the re-assurance and timetable flexibility from the funders was hugely reassuring during this period. 

In July 2021, fourteen months later than anticipated the much-improved club pavilion once more opened it’s doors to members and the local community. The club was back in use ! Bowlers revelled in their new and improved surroundings, thankful for the opportunity to meet again at the club, share tales and experiences whilst once more enjoying their sport and passion for bowling.

The club looks forward to a much brighter 2022;  but what of the schools’ programme? As the whole nation re-emerges from Covid and the scourge of Omicron begins to fade plans are again being remade to go into school this spring, to find and nurture our next generation of bowlers and keep the traditions of this fine club alive.