We are really pleased to announce the successful installation of a borehole at
Bradford on Avon Bowls Club, where on Friday 2nd July, the Mayor of Bradford on Avon, Cllr Sarah Gibson (pictured) attended to be shown the completed project as well as having a go at bowls herself!
Cllr Gibson said:
“I’m terribly excited to see another example of Bradford on Avon’s innovation and leading of the way on environmental projects. This has an impact on lowering the town’s sports facilities carbon footprint with the added advantage of being a cost saver!”
The borehole, a narrow vertical shaft drilled into the ground for the extraction of
water, will provide clean but untreated water with a cost saving of £2000 per annum. This will be used to water both the bowling green and adjacent cricket pitches whilst reducing dependence on mains water and bolstering the organic maintenance programme at the Bowls Club.
“It’s a great pleasure to see this project come to fruition and also how the club has been able to combine provision of top-class facilities with outstanding environmental considerations.”
…commented Mary Hardwidge, also in attendance, of Wiltshire charity Community First, who allocated funds from the Landfill Communities Fund provided by the Hill’s Group.
The project, which was approved by Full Council in March 2021, involved works around
the perimeter of the bowls club, to install pipework, tanks and the borehole itself at a cost of £15,000. Of this, the Town Council provided £5000 with the rest coming from BoA AreaBoard, Community First, BoA Cricket Club, Cumberwell Park and BoA Bowls Club.
Derrick Hunt, Honorary Secretary of BoA Bowls Club, who originally presented the project to the Town Council for consideration said:
“The borehole project is a continuation of our environmental practices, which have also included hedge planting and organic green maintenance. It will enable us and the neighbouring Cricket Club, to keep our facilities to the standard our members and visitors have come to expect, whilst also reducing our impact on the environment and
reducing bills for generations to come. I’d like to thank all ofthe contributors for helping us to make this project a reality.”
In addition to its ecological and economic benefits, the project will also provide security of supply during any summer droughts, particularly a concern as global warming increases. The existing mains water supply to BoA Cricket Club is low pressure and it takes around four hours to carry out the watering, which needs to be supervised. It is estimated that it will take less than an hour in future which will give Cricket Club Chairman, Mike Smith (pictured right) and his team much more time to focus on better things!
The supply will also be made available to Bradford on Avon Town Council for any potential future uses to replace the use of treated mains water and forms part of our continued investment in projects relating to the Climate and Ecological Emergencies.
To find out more about how the Town Council is working on these joint emergencies visit: https://bradfordonavontowncouncil.gov.uk/climate-ecological-emergencies/
Photos Lydia Booth Photography