BOWLERS fearing for their sport in Warrington remain up in arms over controversial maintenance plans of greens attached to Greenalls-managed pubs.

The town's different bowls associations came together on Wednesday night to discuss the issue, following on from one league's chairman's meeting with Greenalls Group officials on Tuesday.

They were left angry that no Greenalls Group officials were present.

But on Thursday morning Tim Bird, managing director of the Great Northern Pub Company which is a division of the Greenalls Group, said: "We will be in touch with the teams, we do want to meet them. The initial letter was meant as a prelude to talk."

Pub teams affected received letters last week off Doug Akehurst, area operations manager, and Tim Bird with regards to maintenance changes.

It was stated that the teams will have to pay £5,000 per year to have their greens and surrounds maintained by the division of the Greenalls Group. Alternatively, the letter said the bowlers could do the work themselves and for this they would receive a £100 donation. The final course of action would be for the bowlers to move out.

Players, organisers and supporters of the popular pastime fear that it is an attempt to move the bowls teams on so that the greens can be dug up to enable the land to be put to other use.

Those involved on the bowls scene are concerned that any loss of teams would have an harmful affect on the sport.

Bird said: "The £5,000 is a round about figure for the green and all the surrounds to be done properly.

"But the bottom line, and this is what I said to Ted Green (chairman of the Warrington and North Cheshire Bowls Association) on Tuesday, is that we want the greens to break even.

"I am not looking to get rid of the greens but I don't want the outlay that we have now.

"For example, the Farmers Arms at Northenden has a bowling green which is self funding, all the bowlers use the pub, they look after the green, it is a full team effort and there's no cost.

"But in the summer I could take you to lunch at one of our Warrington pubs, not be able to park and have to move on to a different pub. Yet our pub would be empty, the bowls green would be full and people would be sat around the side with flasks and sandwiches.

"This is not a case of big bad Greenalls

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