TV weatherman behind sports clubs’ redevelopment plans
THAME Bowls Club and Thame Tennis Club have joined forces to put forward a proposal to redevelop their shared, aged club house in Queen Road, Thame.
The existing club house shared by Thame Bowls and Tennis clubs, built in 1924
Ex BBC weatherman, Bill Giles, who is Chairman of the Thame Bowls Club, was one of three representatives of the two clubs who recently gave a presentation to Thame Town Council in an effort to gain some financial assistance with their £300,000 funding gap for the proposals.
One of the options put forward was to sell the land the current clubs occupy, to developers and to relocate to another site somewhere in the town.
The two clubs envisage that new, modern facilities will open up the possibility of indoor bowls and indoor tennis courts, and could attract other local community groups such as the hockey club, arts groups etc.
Neil Morgan told the town council that Thame Tennis Club is recognised as the best in the county for coaching youngsters, and the Bowls Club Secretary, Trevor Coply, explained that his club was the most successful in England, having increased its membership by 50% compared with a drop in membership nationally of 10%.
“We are a dynamic set up and expanding,” he said. “With an increasingly aging population, we stop them from sitting at home and vegetating. They keep fitter and are given a reason to live!” he said.
Concluding the presentation, Bill Giles, with a reference to his accepting responsibility for fellow weatherman, Michael Fish famous assurance to the nation that no hurricane was on the way in 1987, told the council: “I have been known to fail, but I am determined not to fail this time!” The strong contingent of supporters in the public gallery clapped when he said: “We are going to build something we can be proud of and we need to move it forward quickly.”
The town council intends to produce a ‘Sports Facility Strategy’, as part of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, after assessing the needs of the town, which it says will be paid for by monies collected from future housing developments.
