Testimonial

Like many bowls clubs, we had a number of challenges that could only be overcome by a commitment to long term planning. Although Aspley Bowls Club has been a well loved facility in our area since the 1960s, by 2010, our club was really struggling. We have three greens on our site, and the cost of a green keeper, fertilizers and water, was having a huge financial impact on our club.

An ageing membership met that our numbers were declining each year. We knew that we needed to put a strategic plan in place to keep our club going. 

The first stage of our plan was to convert two of our greens to synthetic carpet, given that their upkeep was so costly. We successfully applied to the QLD Government and the Brisbane City Council for funds to make this conversion. The savings that followed enabled us to get back onto our feet financially and begin the second stage, which was to protect the greens with a cover.

We knew that having a covered green would enable us to maximise playing time by keeping our players out of the sun and the rain, allow for night bowls, and also expand our membership to include schools and social bowlers.

A sub-committee consisting of our Chairperson, Gai Cole, our Patron, Rob McPherson and myself (as the Deputy Chairman), did a huge amount of research into the type of cover our facility needed, and which company could meet this need best.

We made the decision to engage Trevor Scott and Lightweight Structures for a number of reasons. Firstly, his qualifications are extremely impressive, as is his body of work at other bowling clubs around Australia. We all loved the clean and clear lines and thoughtful functionality of his designs. But probably most importantly, we all appreciated that throughout the planning and construction stages, we only ever dealt with Trevor.

He was on site, accessible, and responsive at all times. This is so reassuring when you are managing the responsibility of a project of this magnitude. Every issue that arose (as can be expected on a construction site), was addressed immediately. There was no problem that Trevor couldn’t fix. 

Now, we are finding that where our membership had been declining, it has held steady. We are holding Monday and Friday night bowls which are attracting younger people to come and bowl, eat and drink, and generally enjoy our lovely facility. We are now at a stage where we can start to invite school groups back to use the green, as it is now sun safe.

As a club, we had to overcome a great many obstacles in order to get this project off the ground. By the time we reached the construction phase, it was a tremendous relief to work with Trevor and his crew. From the first contact with Trevor, we knew we were in good hands.

— John Pennisi, Deputy Chairman, Aspley Bowls Club