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Funding from National Lottery Community Fund and Moray West Windfarm Ocean Winds saves Cullen Bowling and Tennis Club from future closure


By Craig Christie

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A CASH windfall has helped fix the leaky roof at Cullen Bowling and Tennis Club and save a community facility from possible closure.

Cullen Bowling and Tennis Club president James Stewart oversees the repair work that has saved his club. Picture: Daniel Forsyth
Cullen Bowling and Tennis Club president James Stewart oversees the repair work that has saved his club. Picture: Daniel Forsyth

With their clubhouse being used not only by bowlers and racket stars of all ages but as a community hub for local groups, repair work was urgently needed.

Regular patch-up jobs on the damaged roof were not sustainable, and the £42,000 cost of a new roof was beyond the club’s means, threatening its future.

But a successful application to the National Lottery Community Fund landed the club a £10,000 grant.

That, combined with another £5000 pledged by the Moray West Windfarm Ocean Winds, has saved the day for the Cullen by putting a roof over their heads.

Club secretary Margaret Petrie said: “It’s really good news because we have been struggling with a leaky roof and patching the patches for several years now, and we were at the stage that it just would not repair any more.

“Had we not got the funds to repair our roof, we would have probably been looking at closing in a few years time.

“You couldn’t have had people in there with water pouring in through the roof. I went in the other day and there were three big puddles to dry up. We were told, it’s just being repaired and repaired and they won’t repair any more.

“We can look forward to the future now.”

Covid-19 put paid to the club’s events for much of the past 15 months, but the repair work combined with the lessening of restrictions means Cullen Bowling and Tennis Club should soon be a hive of activity once again.

“We had regular sessions all winter until we were closed down indoors and it was more the elderly members glad to get out of the house and get a bit of company who suffered as a result.

“We also have a tennis coach who has capacity for 30 pupils and he is coaching 26 at the moment at Cullen, outdoors in the summer and indoor in the winter

“That is the future of our club. The tennis is ongoing, not the same restrictions as bowling.

“So many other community things in Cullen make the use of our premises for their fundraising, people hold their parties there, and it’s the polling station.

“We are important to the community so they thought we were a worthwhile cause, and we’re very grateful.

“With our new roof in place,we will be in a position to hire our premises again, when the Covid-19 crisis allows and to continue with indoor bowing and tennis for many years to come.”


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