Hands Up Who's Playing Bowls?

Aim

Let's bring Palatine Bowling Green back for our community!

Who are we?

We a group of local people who form the happy band of bowlers at Palatine Bowling Club in South Lancaster

Why are we crowdfunding?

Seven years ago we brought bowling back to Palatine.  We set up the Bowling Club which meets in the veterans' hut and we entered a team into the Lancaster Bowling League.  Only one of us had ever bowled before!  It was terrifying!

Anyway, a couple of seasons ago, our green was vandalised and bowling at Palatine ended for a while.  However!  Last season we successfully applied to install some very stylish park green railings around the green to preserve the space for bowling.  

Yes!  Once again Palatine is rising like a phoenix from the flames.  With the green protected for bowling, we really can begin to improve the space so that it can be enjoyed by the community for bowling (and not cycling and football and dog walking!).  Remember those sunny afternoons in the 80s and 90s when Palatine was packed to the rafters with bowlers and chatter?  We want to bring that back!

We've got the green, we've got the support of our City Council, we've got the lovely park green railings, now we want to take it to the next level.  We want benches, planters, bowls which can be used by the public and by our school groups.  We also want to improve the fabric of the green by replacing the weatherboards and gullies.  We have spent so many years watching the steady demise of Palatine that we are conditioned to expect average. However, we want to celebrate our community space - let's expect the best!

So we have made a start - we have already successfully applied to the Sport Lottery Fund for 50% of the funding needed to buy what we need.  However, unless we can raise the remaining 50%, we'll get nothing.  Please share our belief and pitch in.  And when you donate, don’t forget to tick gift aid if you are a UK taxpayer to make your donation worth an extra 25%!

How we’ll spend the money raised

Here's What We're After...

6 Lovely benches so local people have somewhere to sit and enjoy the bowls and the sunshine.  They will surround the green.

Obviously, we need everyone to be sitting in comfort so we want some bench cushions too.

20 sets of bowls and mats - so that everyone can have a go at bowling!  

If we are getting so many bowls, we need to store them in the hut - so we need suitable cupboards so that the bowls can be looked after properly.

A set of 32 bowling sets for children and care homes - this will be perfect for when our local primary schools children and cub and scout group come for a roll on the green

4 Planters so that we can surround the green with flowers and greenery.  Palatine will be back in bloom!

Let's get down to the practical stuff - 

We want to get some ditch liners for the perimeter of the green so that they keep tidy and prevent weeds.  

We also want to replace the wooden facias around the green - they will give the green another 30 years of life.  

Community impact

Everyone should benefit from our improved community space.

Last summer, the Council gained LTA funding to resurface the tennis courts.  Previously, the Palatine Projects Group has converted one of the other greens into a community football pitch.  There are also plans in development to convert another part of the site into a pump track.  At long last, Palatine is on the up.  Improving the bowling green should be the jewel in Palatine's crown.

Bowling is for everyone.  It's good for us!  A game takes up to an hour and in that time you're walking around and stretching your body without even noticing.  It should be on prescription.  

We already have three primary schools who use the green during the summer term with Daniel Lofthouse.  The children love bowling!  They play with such passion and energy - wouldn't it be good to improve the space for them?  We also have the home schoolers' group which uses Palatine every week - we'd love to get them involved too!

We'd like to get local people down there to play through the day.  The bowling green is West facing and in the summer gets the Sun all day!  What better place to get people together, have a natter and a bowl.  

We want to increase bowling club membership.  We want to see the facility used and build more teams and have more fun!  90% of club members all live within walking distance of the green.  We want to get you all out bowling and supporting Palatine on match nights.  Getting us all together around the green will help us to know our neighbours - let's try and rekindle something which has been lost over the last few decades. 

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

When donating, Crowdfunder adds an optional tip. If you prefer not to add this, choose ‘Other’ and enter £0.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made