Derbyshire bowling club ramps up accessibility after council
A Derbyshire bowling club is celebrating after making the sport more accessible to the community following improvements to its facility.
Denby Crown Green Bowls Club has installed a wheelchair access ramp, invested in accessibility appliances and made improvements to its pathways, thanks to community fundraising and funding from Amber Valley Borough Council’s allocation from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
A sum of £5,240 was awarded to the not-for-profit group in Derby Road, allocated from the council’s Community Fund. Monies from the fund are designed to directly benefit the whole community.
Cllr Emma Monkman, deputy leader of Amber Valley Borough Council, who has championed the programme, said: “I am delighted to see and celebrate the work that Denby Bowls Club has carried out.
“Denby is a traditional club dating back more than 40 years and to open these facilities to even more members of the community is heart-warming.”
The club is step-free from the car park to the green, and unstable pathways are being made good for wheelchair users and others with reduced mobility or mental health issues. One path was completed in May, while work on another will begin in October.
Ramps and other apparatus mean children and those with disabilities or impairments now have better access to the facility. The club is also introducing a specialist wheelchair to enable wheelchair users to bowl. And an investment has also been made in ‘Bowl Buddies’ – lighter, softer bowls that are suitable for use by children, those less physically able and people with dementia.
Plans are also in place to purchase other specialist bowling equipment such as bowling arms and lifters, and disabled toilet facilities are being repaired and recommissioned.
Denby Bowls Club has recently begun to forge links with the NHS to help raise awareness of the improved accessibility, and it has entered a partnership with Radfield Home Care, an organisation that aims to keep older people more active, independent and to reduce the risks of social isolation.
The UKSPF is a Government-allocated fund that is intended to reduce inequalities between communities. Those benefiting from the Community Fund allocation must be a voluntary or community project.
In 2023/2024, six projects in the Amber Valley Borough Council region accessed the funding.
Helen Bennett, Growth Projects Officer for Amber Valley Borough Council, said: “The council leader has been very keen to see growth, new projects and pilot schemes in the local area. The fund has allowed this to happen.
“The adaptation of the already beautifully maintained grounds of the Denby Bowls Club has meant that areas previously not easily accessible, such as restrooms, may now be reached by all players and visitors, while the specialised equipment which is also now available should it be needed, ensures the sport is open to all.”
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