Is this bowling club going to the dogs?
A Wellington bowls club in conflict with the council over its future could be turned into a dog training centre.
The Workingmens Bowling Club in Newtown has been attracting noise complaints from neighbours, who say it is being run as a cheap drinking hole, rather than a sports club.
The Wellington City Council says the way the club – on Town Belt land – is being run is not sustainable, and it has been in early discussions with the Central Allbreeds Dog Training School in Aro Valley to shift it to part of the bowling club site.
Club secretary Ellen Hepburn said it was being bullied and harassed by council officers who wanted it gone.
She said it was like ‘‘someone giving you a damn good spanking, and then [you ask] ‘What was that for?’ and they say, ‘Nothing’.’’
The council denied the club was being treated unfairly, and said it wanted the club to comply with healthy living requirements, as outlined by Town Belt rules.
Parks, sport and recreation manager Paul Andrews said there were ‘‘differences of opinion’’ between the council and the club over what had been said over the years. ‘‘The crux of the issue for us is that the bowling club’s activities, and the way they’re running the club, is not sustainable.’’
The council says the club gets most of its income not from membership but from bar receipts and renting out its clubrooms.
Andrews said initial discussions had been held with the dog training school, currently on Town Belt land in Aro Valley. However, it would lose its access to the site if Victoria University sold its parcel of land. The clubs had met to discuss a potential merger, and a dog training club would fit with the general recreational uses required by the Town Belt, he said.
Bowling club greenskeeper Glen Hitch said the dog club had visited to scope the proposed site, and did not favour the idea.
‘‘They said there was not enough parking, fencing to be done, and no storage. They prefer to be somewhere in that area where they are.’’
The dog training club could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, a second Wellington bowls club has also been facing council pressure to comply more closely with Town Belt rules.
Victoria Bowling Club wants to extend its lease and become more of a community sport facility. But president Richard Corry said the council had refused because it had a TAB kiosk and deemed it a commercial activity.
Corry said the club was ‘‘very careful’’ to meet council rules.
The Town Belt Act was passed into law in Parliament last year, adding 120 hectares to the Town Belt. The legislation defines use of the land as being for ‘‘public recreation’’.