Our project is to upgrade the club to bring it to a standard where it can continue to function capably while still keeping membership costs low to ensure everyone in can join and enjoy the sport.
Estimated Cost
£34,000
A number of projects are underway at the moment to bring the club into line with regulations and to modernise old machinery and improve accessibilty.
Project 1 - Install fire alarms compliant with BS5839 with automatic fire detection, fully wired and an outside bell. Cost £6,500 - start date - as soon as possible
Project 2 - Purchase a new mower for the green as the old mower is now well past its sell by date and is becoming unrepairable cost £13,000 - start date - as soon as possible
Project 3 - Install a ramp for wheelchair access to the clubrooms - cost £2,000 - start date - September 2026
Project 4 - Upgrade our floodlights and replace with LED lighting - start date - October 2026
Thurso Bowling Club, situated by Tesco store, has been a major part of the Caithness Community for nearly 140 years opening in 1887. It is a very popular club having approximately 160 members and the above projects are needed to ensure the longevity of the club. We are a fully inclusive club and attained the Bowls Scotland Gold Award for good governance and management in 2024 being at that time the third club in Scotland to have achieved this award. In order to keep the club going we find it necessary to apply for grant funding as the annual running costs of the club keep spiralling upwards and we are trying very hard to keep the membership fees at a low cost to ensure everyone in the community can enjoy the sport of bowling.
The fire alarms is an absolute must as the insurance companies have this year included the necessity to have a complete fire alarm system installed which was not necessary in years gone by. At the moment we only have smoke detectors in the building. Without insurance we cannot continue as a Club.
The mower is our second project and as you would expect a bowling green mower is a specialised piece of equipment. The green is cut 5 days out of 7 to keep it in prestine condition necessary to ensure that everyone can enjoy bowling.
We have a portable ramp at the moment but and need install a permanent ramp for easy wheelchair access into the clubroom. This will make access much easier for people with disability.
We have floodlights at the moment but they were installed in 1979 and although they had replacement heads around 2010 they are really not fit for purpose.
We have been actively improving the Club over the past few years. We installed a disabled toilet and refurbished the existing toilets in 2024 as well as upgrading our heating system, water system and lighting to reduce outgoings, and in 2025 installed solar panels to reduce our carbon footprint. further. We have a very active junior section with approximately 25 youngsters and have purchased equipment and approximately 20 sets of smaller bowls for the juniors.
At Thurso Bowlng Club we run a number of open competitions which are attended by bowlers from all over Scotland. These bowlers come for a weekend of bowling and use hotels, restaurants etc when they are here. We regularly have visitors coming along to enjoy a game of bowls and the Club is open to everyone whether member or visitor.
I have applied to Baillie Wind Farm for help with the Fire Alarm upgrade as this is the most urgent need for the Club
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