Sports Club could be on the move

Trowbridge Westbourne Sports Club, which is home to both the Westbourne Tennis Club and Westbourne Bowls Club, has been based in Westbourne Gardens since 1913, but discussions are now underway about a possible move.

Over the years, the ground the sports club owns has become a valuable asset in a sought-after area of Trowbridge, so plans for selling the land and moving to a bigger home are being given serious consideration.

The club has around 300 members, including a thriving junior section, four tennis courts and a bowling green, but measuring just one acre the scope for future expansion is limited.

Car parking is also a problem, so a new site would be more accessible to more people.

Kay Gilbert, secretary of Trowbridge Westbourne Tennis Club, said: "Things are at a very early stage and nothing at all has been decided, but we think that it would be prudent of the committee to look at options for the future.

"Any decision taken would not be by the tennis club or the bowls club alone, but would have to be taken by the sports club's management committee, which is responsible for both sections and for the land owned by the club.

"The ambition of the club is to look to the future and see how we can develop, and although we can still take more members where we are at, it is right that all options are considered."

According to the tennis club newsletter, the next step is to get formal valuations of its land and of new land, along with development costs.

Regular updates about the process will be posted to members via management committee minutes, and the final decision on whether a move is viable is down to members, and will be taken at a future annual meeting.

Mrs Gilbert said: "Because this is in such early stages no alternative sites have been decided on, although we have been approached by the Trowbridge Rugby Club before.

"Everybody might have their own ideas, but we don't have any sites at the moment."

lTHROUGHOUT its long and proud history Trowbridge Westbourne Sports Club has nurtured the talents of many tennis players and bowlers, including a world champion.

Cliff Stroud, Wiltshire's only ever international bowls gold medalist, who won the fours at the World Championships in 1972, played for the club for 40 years before retiring in 2001, and becoming a life member.

He made his first Middleton Cup appearance for Wiltshire in 1951 and then represented the county for 32 consecutive years. He played in 28 Wiltshire finals and won all the main titles at least twice, including five singles crowns.

The highlight of his career though was playing for England.

He played over 115 matches for his country, including the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970 and the World Championships in Worthing two years later where he was a member of the fours championship winning team.