1986 – 1989 The start of a long road!
1986 - The Chippenham Bowls Association (CBA) started investigating the possibility of building an Indoors bowls centre in the Chippenham area.
1988 - The North Wilts District Council (NWDC) was approached regarding the Westcroft site.
1989 - Having carried out soil tests, the NWDC stated that the Westcroft site was not suitable for development.
1991 - Was the cost too much?
The NWDC carried out further soil tests at Westcroft and in 1992 offered the site to the CBA subject to planning permission and deep pile foundations necessitated by the condition of the Land. After long discussions it was decided the cost of building the centre would be too much, and the NWDC was advised that the CBA would not be going ahead.
1995 - The National Lottery and members loan pledges.
The advent of the National Lottery meant that a new avenue had been opened up, and the CBA decided that, if the land at Westcroft was still available, an application should be made to the Lottery for a Grant. After a lot of hard work carried out by the CBA with public meetings held to seek members and pledges of loans; and to set up the necessary steering committee it was decided that the New Club should be called the ‘North Wilts Indoor Bowls Club’ and the application for the Lottery grant was made.
1996 - The grant approved
Notification was received in March that the Grant of just over Half a Million pounds had been approved by the National Lottery. In April a Limited Company was formed, control of the new Club passing to the Directors who took over the work of steering committee. On the 13th May the first turf was cut by the Chairman of the NWDC and the contract awarded to Woods of Winchester. Just over twenty-one weeks later, work was completed and the centre was formally handed over to the Directors of the Company on the 10th October. On the 29th November, the official opening of the Centre was performed by the President of the World Indoor Bowls Council.
2004 – Adding an Outdoor Green
Originally, just an Indoor Club, North Wilts decided to make better use of the wider site by adding an outdoor bowling green. Plans were put in place and over the course of the winter a 6-rink green was developed, having its official opening in June 2005.
