Winners and losers

I am very pleased to confirm that the council wants to encourage the elderly and disabled to enjoy recreational activities in our parks and leisure centres as much as possible. There are a range of ways we do this, and provision of several well-maintained bowling greens is just one of them.

The cost of maintaining the bowling greens is high in fact it is more than five times the income we receive from the clubs. Therefore, the financial support we give to bowls clubs is proportionally much more than for any other sport. The assertion that the city council discriminates against the elderly and disabled in provision of sports facilities could not be further from the truth.

There were also complaints about increases in charges this year. We instituted a review of our charges for use of bowling greens in response to comments from some of the bowls clubs that the charges were not being applied equally between one club and another.

The average increase since last year has been five per cent, and the basis for the charges is now fully transparent.

There have been winners and losers in this, but it is important that the council does not knowingly discriminate in the way it charges for facilities owned by the people of Oxford.

The council has also now set up a users' forum, so that matters of interest to the bowls clubs can be discussed openly in front of all those who might benefit.

I would also point out that there are opportunities for any sports club to apply for grants to the area committees, and to other bodies such as the Oxford Sports Council.

Alan Armitage, Portfolio holder for a healthier environment, Oxford City Council