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An ambitious plan to build a multi-million dollar world-class bowling club, on a reserve in Glenmore Drive in Warkworth, has been abandoned.
Warkworth Bowls unveiled the plan in 2021, which involved selling its present site in Mill Lane to help finance a large social club, two fully covered greens, parking for 100 cars and a “sky bar” – a raised viewing platform with a bar area.
A lease on the Glenmore reserve was secured from Rodney Local Board earlier this year.
However, at the club’s annual meeting on June 16, a vote to sign the lease and proceed with the build was defeated.
Club president John Hurdley says around 60 members attended and the motion was lost “by a large majority vote”.
“I won’t go into all the reasons for this, suffice to say it was a huge project to undertake and, as most of us are not getting any younger, it was just a bridge too far,” he said.
He added that the main issue was the length of time it had taken to secure the lease agreement.
“It was a very long-winded affair during which time many club members went right off the idea, as they were worried about who and how the work would be done if we did move to Glenmore Reserve.
“The location didn’t sit well with many either and there were also concerns about whether we would attract sufficient new members, given that many sports clubs are suffering from lack of members and, therefore, volunteers to run them.’
Hurdley says the club will remain where it is in the meantime, while a new executive investigates other options.
The bowls club has been on its current site for just over a century.
When first exploring the possible move, club representatives said the site was long past its use-by date, and the bowling club was not the best use for the 4500 square metres of land that had become prime real estate.
