BOWLERS campaigning against plans to close their Southgate club have gained a reprieve after councillors deferred a decision.

Bramley Road Bowls and Squash Centre, in Chase Side, has been earmarked for demolition as part of Enfield Council's plan to upgrade the borough's leisure centres.

But at Tuesday's planning committee at Enfield Civic Centre, club members handed in a petition with 500 signatures and pleaded with councillors to reject the proposal.

And members of the committee voted to defer the decision for a second time until next month while they wait for more information on how many people use the centre.

Campaign leader Lesley Cohen, who spoke at the meeting, said: “It really is surprising when you look into it just how many people use the facilities.”

The council wants to replace the building with an all-weather sports pitch, a reception block and parking space for 22 cars.

Council officers claim there is a decline in the popularity of bowls, estimating there are only 100 players who use the building, but club captain Doris Langham told the Enfield Independent last week that the building is used by more than 250 people, including children who use the centre on a Sunday afternoon.

She added that closing the club would mean frail pensioners having to travel by bus to centres in Edmonton or Finchley, more than seven miles away and more expensive.