Repairs keep balls rolling blurb
Thanks to a three way deal to clear debris from the club?s beloved upper green, Eastbourne Bowls Club can now look forward to using their full facilities before too long. ? By Tim O?Connell After successful negotiations with local authorities for financial assistance the bowling turf at Eastbourne has been cleared of earth paving the way for play to start again. The slip happened after bad weather plagued Wellington over winter. Rain and mud slips damaged the upper green of the Muritai Road premises making it unplayable. Club Secretary Don Griffin made a presentation to the Eastbourne Community Board on October 6 in an attempt to solve the problem. The meeting was also attended by the Mayor and officers from Hutt City and the Greater Wellington Regional Councils. It is understood that the bowling club presented a quote of $6,100 to remove the debris. Subsequently, the club received and accepted an offer to split the cost evenly between the three parties. The debris was eventually removed last month. Further submissions were lodged with the club?s insurers to cover both Eastbourne Bowls? share of the cost plus a claim for loss of revenue at the time of the Kadima Gala on September 28. Club members believed that they lost out financially as the upper green was not available for the men?s fours event. It was not known at the time of press whether the club?s claim was successful. Mr Griffin said there was still some remedial work to be completed before the green could be used for regular matches. However, he was confident of having the green up and running by the end of the year. Mr Griffin said that options were being explored to try to stabilise the hillside to stop similar damage occurring again. ?I?m not an engineer, but I really think something has to be done to be honest you.?
