Fears bowls club may have to move if flooding hits clubhouse again
Malmesbury Bowls and Social Club saw its playing green and car park flooded during Storm Claudia - a year after being washed out of its clubhouse
A Wiltshire bowls club says it might have to move venues if flooding hits its clubhouse again.
Malmesbury Bowls and Social Club saw it's clubhouse submerged in November 2024 during Storm Bert, and was again hit during last weekend's Storm Claudia.
Luckily, this time around, the water only reached the car park and the playing green, with Treasurer Paul Lucas telling us another clubhouse flood would be "a disaster".
He told us that the playing green, which is artificial, drains quick quickly.
"What's left behind is sludge and mud and that takes some time to clean," he said. "Last year for Storm Bert, it took nearly 500 hours of work to clean the green. This year is not going to be so bad. It's probably going to be about 100 hours of work to clean the green."
However, the venue is at constant risk of flooding during heavy rain as it is surrounded by water on all four sides.
Built on the Little Meat Island in 1908, Paul said those behind the clubs creation there "probably weren't thinking about climate change and flooding".
He explained that the Goose Bridge is a choke point, allowing water to build up, which is why the Bowls club is so vulnerable to flooding.
Renovating the clubhouse after Storm Bert cost £100,000, Paul told us.
He said: "Eighty thousand pounds came from insurance, five thousand came from Sport England and fifteen thousand from the club. However we no longer have insurance for flooding for the club after Storm Bert.
"If we were to be flooded again to that extent, it would be the end of the club and we'd have to move site."
Moving sites wouldn't just impact those who are part of the bowls club, as it's also used by a Skittles league, with ten teams playing there, while the clubhouse is used for bingo, quiz nights and other community events.
And if a move was to happen, Paul said it might end up seeing the bowls club sharing a facility with a tennis or netball club.
He said it would be devastating to lose the venue: "It will be a real shame because we've been in existence for 117 years. It's a very good community facility and when it's nice and sunny, it's a beautiful location and everyone enjoys being down there and playing bowls."