The announcement that the Labour Council intend to sell the Acomb Bowling Club and adjacent land on the open market next year is a big blow to the Westfield area.
The last Council had given an assurance to the Club that they would be able to use the greens for the foreseeable future. Now it seems that the future of the facility is once again at risk.
Originally the Council had intended to build a replacement for the Acomb Office on the site. However revised plans indicated that the necessary accommodation – mainly interview rooms – could be built on the present library car park, with the existing club car park being shared with Council customers. Some staff would move from the Acomb Office into the new Council HQ being constructed in Toft Green while customer facing officers would remain in Acomb.
Residents would benefit from having a “one stop shop” access to all Council services, and the cost of the new building work would have been reduced to around £0.5M. This investment would have been recovered by savings when the existing £50,000 a year lease on the Carr Lane office expired next year.
It was expected that the area to the immediate rear of he library would have accommodated a couple of new homes while the problem land to the immediate rear of Chancery Court would have been landscaped.
Now this plan is up in the air as the Labour Council pursue their policy of asset stripping the Council..