City of Gosnells approves funding for new shared facilities for Thornlie bowling and tennis clubs

CITY of Gosnells has approved funding to redevelop facilities at Thornlie Bowling Club and Thornlie Tennis Club.

The council voted unanimously to provide financial assistance to build a new, shared clubroom for the two clubs.

Thornlie Bowling Club director Rick Scupham said the club desperately needed a new clubroom to replace their current facility, which was more than 50 years old.

“The current level of membership is around 600 and the clubhouse we’ve currently got is only licensed to hold 249 people,” he said.

“You try and modernise it from time to time, but we’ve just got to the stage where we can’t add on and more, we can’t go up, there’s no more land to go out and the layout of it is actually a little bit dysfunctional.”

The estimated cost of the project is about $6.5 million, and the Federal Government has already committed $2.4 million as part of its Community Development Grants program, provided an application is submitted to them.

Thornlie Bowling Club had initially applied for government funding early last year, but was unsuccessful.

A meeting with former Minister for Sport Mia Davies suggested the club’s best chance to secure funding was to collaborate with the tennis club, as shared facilities were more likely to receive funding.

The old clubrooms will be demolished and the new clubroom will be built in between the two clubs, which back on to each other.

It will include shared and exclusive areas for the two clubs, and will enable the tennis club to host district-level tournaments.

Mr Scupham said the new facilities would benefit the entire community.

“There’s a shortage of that sort of hall hire stuff in the City of Gosnells,” he said.

“Apart from being bigger, we’re hoping to have an upper level containing function areas which can be used by the rest of the community as well, weddings and birthdays and the like.”