Leeds bowling green closures update

Bowling News

Leeds City Council have provided an update this week on the situation regarding reducing expenditure on bowling greens in the city. Previously they had indicated they were prepared to close 31 of the 60 bowling greens in the city to save money amidst a massive cost cutting exercise. That was later retracted with a public consultation exercise resulting in a stay of execution until the end of the summer bowling season. This is the latest official update from the Council issued on Monday 3 March 2025..

Update on proposed changes to crown green bowling provision in Leeds

New proposals have been announced that aim to put crown green bowling provision in Leeds on a more secure financial footing and safeguard the long-term local future of the sport.

Leeds City Council confirmed at the start of the year that it was considering a range of money-saving options for municipal greens as part of its efforts to tackle the severe budget pressures being faced by all its services.

One of those options would have seen the number of greens reduced from 61 to 31, delivering a net annual saving of £140,000 on the council’s £360,000-per-year maintenance costs. Now, following a public consultation process and productive dialogue with the local bowling community, the council has drawn up revised proposals that it hopes will allow many more of the city’s greens to stay open.

These proposals will generate savings and additional revenue for the council – and, crucially, are designed to increase participation in the sport by placing an onus on bowling clubs to recruit new players. Figures for 2024/25 show that – across the city’s 47 clubs – there are a total of 1,184 adult full-year season ticket holders.

The council has already committed itself to the continued maintenance of all existing municipal greens until the end of the 2025 summer season.

Key elements of the new plan, published today on the council’s website, include:

• Raising the cost of an adult full-year season ticket from £45 to £90 from the start of April 2025;

• Setting clubs a target of having at least 20 adult full-year season ticket holders per summer green by the end of September this year;

• Requiring any clubs that are unable to meet that target to make up the resulting shortfall in season ticket revenue themselves;

• Setting clubs a target of having at least 26 adult full-year season ticket holders per summer green by the end of September 2028;

• Requiring clubs to cover their own electricity and water costs, the vast majority of which are currently paid by the council;

• Exploring ways – such as a community asset transfer – in which some clubs could, if they wish to do so, operate independently of the council on a self-sustaining basis.

Clubs will be offered the opportunity for individual meetings with the council this month to discuss how they will be affected by the new arrangements. A decision on whether to press ahead with the plan is due to be taken on or after March 20.

The proposed £90 season ticket cost is equivalent to £1.73 per week for people who bowl all year round or £3.46 for each week of the sport’s summer season. Clubs would also be able to give players the option of staggering their payments.

Asked for their views on possible price rises during January's consultation process, 48 per cent of respondents said they would be prepared to pay between £50 and £99. Thirty-five per cent, meanwhile, said they would be prepared to pay more than £100 and 15 per cent were prepared to pay more than £150. The consultation also showed that, if usage figures for 2024 were replicated, 14 of the city’s 47 clubs would not meet the new ’20 per green’ target for season tickets.

There is scope, however, for clubs to boost their numbers by encouraging players who currently pay on a per-session basis to make season ticket purchases instead. During the consultation, clubs also suggested sponsorship or the securing of grants as possible ways they could make up any shortfall in season ticket revenue or fund their electricity and water costs.

Most clubs currently contribute a token annual amount of £50 each to these utility costs, with the council covering the rest of a combined bill that this year is expected to be between £40,000 and £60,000. Under the revised plan, clubs will have to pay their full electricity costs from 2025/26 onwards and full water costs from 2026/27 onwards.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space, said:

“The council has been clear that, given the severity of the financial challenges it is currently facing, significant savings need to be made across a whole range of service areas. “Equally, however, we have stressed that decisions on how such savings can be achieved will take full account of the needs and views of local people.

“This has been our approach since we first announced that changes were being planned to Leeds’s crown green bowling provision. “The recent public consultation underlined the important contribution that bowling makes to life in many of the city’s communities, and has helped us shape our revised proposals. “We will now continue to engage with clubs and players as we seek to deliver a more secure financial future for the sport in Leeds.”

The current number of municipal greens in Leeds is far higher than in other large cities such as Bradford, Sheffield and Manchester. The public consultation on the original options for changes to local provision ran between January 7 and 26.

The latest threat to crown green bowling comes from Rochdale Borough Council which has declared a move to close all 24 bowling greens across the town to save money.

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