Bowled over by success for Carmarthen sports club's takeover

A Carmarthen bowls committee has taken over the day to day running of its club.
Bro Myrddin Bowls Club is now being managed by a board of trustees as part of Carmarthenshire County Council’s Community Asset Transfer scheme.
The board, made up of seven bowls members, secured the 25-year lease following a handover this week.
Community Asset Transfer (CAT) is the transfer of land or buildings from the Council to the management of a local organisation. This transfer is typically arranged via a long lease with the organisation responsible for the running and management of the asset and all associated costs.
Trustees’ chairman, Arthur Collinge said: "This is a wonderful occasion, something we have been working towards for two years and it’s a win-win situation for both the council and the Indoor Bowls Committee. Already we’re taking steps for greater use of the facility and have introduced a bingo club which is proving successful. We want as many people as possible to use this magnificent facility. We are a very enthusiastic board of trustees and realise there is a long way to go but we’ve made a good start and are determined to achieve our objectives.”
Community Asset Transfer aims to give the community more control over buildings and land in their area and encourages community involvement and empowerment. It also puts the community in a stronger position to fundraise and to apply for funding from grant organisations, for example the Big Lottery.
The council’s executive board member for leisure, Cllr Meryl Gravell, said: “We’ve been working closely with the trustees for the last six months supporting them to get to this point. They are thrilled to be taking over the daily running of the club and I’ve no doubt that they will do their very best by the club and its community. I would also like to thank everyone, both our officers and the new trustees for working together in moving this exciting venture forward. They are an example to others.”
The council’s executive board member for resources, Cllr David Jenkins added: “We’re all well aware of the financial pressures currently facing all local authorities in Wales following reduced budget allocations from central and Welsh Government. We are currently looking to make around £30million efficiency savings in order to protect front-line services, such as social care and education. This unfortunately means that we can no longer afford to invest as much in non-statutory services, such as sport and leisure. However, we recognise the value that sport has on the health and wellbeing of people and communities. This is why we want to work with town and community councils, and local sporting clubs and associations, to secure a future for our parks, playgrounds and sports pitches. By working together we can give more control to communities to manage their own facilities the way that they want. By doing so, there will also be more scope to apply for grant funding for improvements, which local authorities are not eligible to apply for.”