Balmain Bowling Club: New opening date set, mayor cites rezoning concerns

The long-running closure of an Inner West bowling club could come to an end this week, but parts of the community still harbour concerns the club would be demolished for apartments. See the owners response.

Balmain Bowling Club is set to reopen on November 11 after an 18-month closure.

The long-running closure of a historic Inner West bowling club could end this week as the owners prepare to fling open the doors and mow the lawns once again, but parts of the community ⁠— and the local mayor ⁠— remain sceptical.

Balmain Bowling Club, which calls itself NSW’s oldest, has been shut since June 2021, firstly due to the Covid pandemic and then recruitment issues, but could reopen its door as early as Friday.

The bowling club was amalgamated with St Johns Park Bowling Club in July 2020, which now runs the site. Fears were sparked in July when a liquidator’s notice made the rounds, although this was the final formality of the merger, rather than a winding down of the physical site.

In a recent update provided to members, the club confirmed it would commence trading on November 11 after securing a duty manager from another of St Johns’ sites.

“The hospitality industry continues to suffer dire staff shortages on a national level and after many attempts through several recruitment resources, we have still not been able to find a venue manager to reopen the club,” the members update said.

Balmainers could be bowling at the club as early as Friday. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“We have now been able to rearrange our duty manager team at St Johns Park Bowling Club to fill the position in the short term.”

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne, however, had previously cast doubt on its reopening.

“Following indefinite delays to the reopening of Balmain Bowling Club we are launching a community campaign to save Australia’s oldest bowlo,” the mayor said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

“For months I have been inquiring with the operators about why the venue has remained closed post-Covid.”

The mayor has tabled a motion for Tuesday’s council meeting which will seek assurances on the opening date, encourage residents to advocate to the club to reopen, and also check the zoning status of the site.

“We’ll be letting residents know how to help in advocating, and we’ll also review the zoning to make sure that this prolonged closure isn’t the prelude to an attempt to redevelop the site,” he said.

St Johns Park Bowling has again reaffirmed its commitment to the club.

St Johns Park Bowling Club group CEO David Marsh confirmed to the Inner West Courier the club’s soft reopening is set for Friday, and also said there was “no truth whatsoever” to rumours about the club’s future.

“We are committed to our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) we signed with the club for at least the next seven years,” he said.

“The reason we could not open is we simply couldn’t find a venue manager, given the staff shortages across the industry.”

Mr Marsh went to lengths to dispel any notion St Johns Park wasn’t committed to the club and said the zoning of the site didn’t allow for major redevelopment.

“This rumour mill is being pushed by a very small minority, we’ve explained everything to the mayor so I’m not sure why he would doubt us,” Mr Marsh said.

The MOU, signed in 2020, would see St Johns commit $6 million to the Balmain club over a ten-year period, of which it is now into its third year. Mr Marsh previously revealed the club was looking at ways to improve and enhance the site, although bowling would remain at its heart.

The club is set to reopen on Friday, with trading also on Saturday and Sunday.