Sports and social club 'is being forced to close'
Sports and social club 'is being forced to close'
Sophie Ladd - GloucestershireWed, July 29, 2026 at 7:07 AM UTC
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Dowty Sports and Social Club has been running for 66 years
Staff at a sports and social club say they are being forced to wind up the business after a lack of communication from landowners.
The land rented by Dowty Sports and Social Club in Staverton, Gloucestershire, was bought four years ago by the Ashville Group, which continued the club's lease but plans to turn the site into a business park.
Rachel Moss, club business manager, said she had been waiting to hear about Ashville's plans for Dowty for 18 months, and wanted to know if a lease extension would be granted.
"Unfortunately, we've not had any kind of communication," she said, pushing staff into the decision to liquidate the company behind the club. The BBC has contacted Ashville for comment.
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The 16-acre site, used by Dowty for 66 years, has 10 football pitches, sports halls and a purpose-built dojo.
The facilities are used by football clubs, dance groups, a judo club and police dog handlers for training.
Tewkesbury Borough Council has said that in order to get planning permission to demolish the clubhouse and its facilities, and pave over the greenfield land, Ashville must build like-for-like facilities so the community can continue using them.
Two planning applications have been submitted but they have not yet been considered.
The groups that use the space say they are concerned that the new facilities will either not materialise or will not be adequate for their needs.
Recently, as part of an archaelogical dig required for the planning application, Ashville dug up all but one of the football pitches.
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The company promised to fill in the trenches but one football club that uses the pitches says they are still unplayable.
Ian Greaves says Ashville has not repaired football pitches following an excavation
Ian Greaves, treasurer of Churchdown Panthers FC, said that after Ashville filled in the trenches, there was "no attempt to repair [them] other than just filling in the hole", and stones had been left on the surface.
He said Ashville representatives had spoken about fixing the pitches but that nothing had been done yet.
Greaves said he was not sure if the club would be able to keep using the pitches during construction of replacements, or if a new clubhouse would have the facilities the players need.
He said: "We've yet to see anything from Ashville that's shown that willingness to do these things. There's lots of talk and no action."
The club also spoke of concerns about keeping future rental costs down for the community groups that use the facilities.
Moss said the club hoped that the new facilities were kept affordable.
Sarah Hands, lead member for planning at Tewkesbury Borough Council, said she "completely understands" local concern about the club's future.
She said: "For many people it is much more than a sports venue – it has been at the heart of the community for generations and has supported people of all ages to take part in sport and social activities...
"Should planning permission be granted, any planning conditions or legal agreements would be enforceable, and the applicant would be expected to comply with them."
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Source: “AOL Sports”
