The Bradley Stoke Journal

Sunday’s dramatic events at Baileys Court bowling green, reported first here on the Bradley Stoke Journal have sparked a hurge surge of interest from the local, regional and national media. The Journal’s exclusive photos [album, slideshow] of the stand-off between bowlers and police officers have been a key factor in the momentum behind the story.

Once things have quietened down, we will be compiling a comprehensive review of the media coverage. In the meantime, here is a summary of the reports we know about:

Tuesday:

• Radio Bristol - on-site reports in the breakfast programme
• Bristol Evening Post - front page, inside page plus editorial comment (*) & online
• Western Daily Press - front page, two inside pages plus editorial comment (*) & online
• ITV West News - TV feature (*) & online (*)
• BBC Points West - TV feature (*) & online (*)

Wednesday:

• BBC Radio 2
• BBC Radio 4
• BBC Radio 5 Live
• Daily Express - print (*) & online
• Daily Mirror - print (*) & online
• Daily Mail (*) - print (*) & online (*)
• Daily Telegraph - online
• London Evening Standard - online (*)

Items marked (*) make use of exclusive photos supplied by The Bradley Stoke Journal.

Please let us know if you have seen coverage of the story elsewhere.

Read all the “Battle of the Bowls” stories here on The Bradley Stoke Journal.

The dispute between Bradley Stoke Town Council and Northavon Bowls Club, brought to a head by an invasion of the Baileys Court bowling green on Sunday, is featuring extensively this morning on the “Breakfast with Richard Wyatt” programme on BBC Radio Bristol. Local bowls hero Tony Allcock, Chief Executive of Bowls England was heard just after the 7am news voicing support for the Bowls Club and calling on the Council to be more more proactive in encouraging community sport. An interview with Bradley Stoke Town Council is expected to be broadcast later in the programme.

In dramatic scenes at Baileys Court bowling green on Sunday afternoon, police were called after a group of approximately fifty bowlers and supporters from Northavon Bowls Club entered the ground in defiance of an order imposed by Bradley Stoke Town Council. The bowlers began to set out equipment for an “open session”, but were soon interrupted by the sound of police sirens and the arrival of officers from Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Gates to the green had been padlocked two weeks ago by the Council, but the chain on one of the gates was mysteriously severed sometime earlier on Sunday. This allowed the group to enter the premises at around 2pm.

The Club is in dispute with the Council over proposals for a new rental agreement at the ground and following the breakdown of negotiations between the two parties, the Club has been banned from the green and pavilion and instructed to remove all its effects by 1st May. [see earlier report in The Journal]

A total of seven police officers and PCSOs attended the disturbance and they are understood to have requested that the group leave the premises as they were committing an unlawful act of trespass following an incident of criminal damage. Heated discussions ensued, with some members of the club commenting that the strength of the police response was “over the top”. The group eventually left the ground after being there for about forty-five minutes.

More photos from this story may be found on The Journal’s PicasaWeb pages [album, slideshow]. Related posts: bowls

On Friday (18th April) representatives of Bradley Stoke Cricket Club signed on a new rental agreement with Bradley Stoke Town Council, bringing months of often acrimonious negotiations to an end. The deal is reported to secure the club’s future at the Baileys Court cricket ground for the next forty years.

Bradley Stoke Town Council issued a press release about the agreement on Friday evening, while Mayor Julian Barge can be heard talking about the deal in an audio clip interview published on the sadlybroke website. This sudden wave of publicity is likely to be interpreted by cynics as a sign of the Council’s relief that one element in the long-running dispute over the Baileys Court rental agreements has finally been brought to a conclusion. However, many people in the town believe that the problems are of the Council’s own making, following their decision to unilaterally increase rents by massive amounts in 2007.

In stark contrast, negotiations with Northavon Bowls Club, who also have a ground at Baileys Court, continue to be deadlocked. A source within the Club has informed The Journal that recent attempts to bring in a mediator from South Gloucestershire Council have been rejected by the Town Council. However, a spokesman from the Council gave a different account, stating that the mediator, having examined the history of the case, decided that no useful arbitration would be possible.

Sources from both sides in the dispute have confirmed that the Club has been ordered to remove all its effects from the Baileys Court pavilion by 1st May 2008.

An extraordinary general meeting of the Northavon Bowls Club on Friday (11th April 2008) overwhelming rejected the new rental agreement recently proposed by Bradley Stoke Town Council. The agreement, which covers use of the bowling green and pavilion facilities at the Baileys Court Activity Centre, had been tabled on Monday evening at a meeting between Club officials and the Council’s working group. [see earlier Journal report.] It is understood that members voted 68 to eight against the proposal.

The long-standing dispute between Bradley Stoke Town Council and Northavon Bowls Club has escalated to the point where the Council has padlocked the gates to the bowling green at Baileys Court Activity Centre. The green and pavilion are leased by the Club from the Council under an agreement dating back to the 1990’s, when the former Northavon District Council constructed the original facilities.

The dispute stems from a decision by the Council, in early 2007, to increase the annual rent charged to the Club by 54%. With the two parties unable to come to an agreement, the Council, in October 2007, served notice on the Club to terminate the lease.

Mindful of the oncoming new bowling season, the Club recently agreed to pay “without prejudice” the increased rental amount, but the Council are still refusing the Club access to the bowling green and pavilion until a new agreement is signed.

Tonight (Monday) sees a further meeting between the Council’s working group and the Club to see if agreement can be reached in time for the opening of the new bowling season later this week.