Concern over future of 103-year-old bowling green

A 103-year-old Surrey bowling green could be destroyed and members forced to move to another club.

Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) is looking to continue negotiations into potentially selling the historic Walton-on-Thames bowling green to make way for a new, state-of-the-art NHS hub.

Councillors have described the offer as a "once in a generation opportunity" to provide a central health hub for people in the town.

Council officers told EBC's Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday that they were continuing conversations with the club to find them a new home.

EBC Cabinet members had agreed to give the NHS the right to buy part of Elm Grove recreational ground on 30 April.

The local NHS team hopes to move from its current home at Walton Community Hospital in Rodney Road to this new location.

Councillor and Hinchley Wood Residents' Association member Janet Turner said her main concern was that the council would sign Elm Grove away without any concrete agreement from the NHS.

Initially, the council had promised to rebuild the bowling green elsewhere in the borough but realised creating a new centre would be extortionate, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor John Cope said that according to officers' notes, there were no viable relocation options for the club as none of the land owned by the council was suitable for a bowling green.

Michael Atkinson, treasurer of the Walton-on-Thames Bowling Club, previously said it would be "an awful shame" to "wipe away" the club's 103-year history.

No decisions have been made but officers and members agreed to continue to look at negotiating a deal for the proposed health centre.

A spokesperson for North West Surrey Alliance, a partnership of local councils and NHS organisations, previously said the site provided an opportunity for the area to "have a first class health infrastructure and receive integrated health services".

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook or X. Send your story ideas to [email protected], external or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.