Future of Vale of Lune squash comes under threat

The future of squash at the Vale of Lune is under threat after almost 50 years but members are mounting a campaign to play on.
The plaque mounted in the squash courts at the Vale of Lune.The plaque mounted in the squash courts at the Vale of Lune.
The plaque mounted in the squash courts at the Vale of Lune.

A proposal to close the two courts at the Powderhouse Lane rugby ground is to be considered at a general meeting of members on Tuesday March 13.

Plans have been put forward to convert the courts into a gym to be run by an outside commercial firm but squash-playing members are opposing the scheme.

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The board of the club – now a limited company –claim the squash section is no longer viable and propose it should be wound up within a few weeks.

They also propose the board should continue to negotiate terms for the conversion of the courts into a gym.

The courts were opened in 1974 during the “squash boom” but the club has suffered a decline in membership in recent years leading to a drop in income which is cited by the Vale board as the reason for closure.

Squash section spokesman Steve Thompson, who has played at the club since the courts opened, said: “The members of the squash section are determined the courts should not close, especially when the closure plans are being pushed through on financial figures that are only estimates -- estimates which we challenge.”