RESIDENTS of Lydbrook will have noticed the major repairs recently undertaken to the retaining wall to the Lydbrook Recreation Ground.

The work was commissioned by the trustees of the Lydbrook Memorial Hall and Recreation Management Committee with financial support from Lydbrook Parish Council. The contractors were Kettle Civils Limited of Drybrook who did a fabulous job with little disruption to the community.

The current trustees of the charity are working extremely hard to upgrade the facilities it provides for the sporting, social, religious and cultural activities within our community. In this they are being hindered by the uncooperative and intransigent stance being adopted by the officials of our tenants, The Lydbrook Athletic Sports and Social Club. This club is a licensed members' club which rents the basement premises of the Memorial Hall. It is separate to, but closely associated, with the Lydbrook Athletic Association Football Club.

At some time during the mid-1970s, shortly after the sports and social club was established in the Memorial Hall basement, they built a bar in the main part of the Memorial Hall. This bar occupies approximately one third of the kitchen area and is accessed through the kitchen.

In the intervening 30-40 years, the Athletic Club has paid not a penny in rent for the bar or made a penny in donations to the charity from the bar takings. The bar has not been used for at least two years and cannot ever again be used in its present location as access to the bar is through a working kitchen this would compromise our health and safety risk assessment.

The charity has purchased some high quality second hand kitchen fittings which we are keen to install as soon as possible.

Part of our plan is to provide temporary bar facilities from the kitchen directly into the main body of the hall. For these plans to work, the charity needs to remove the current bar and relocate the facility so that it can be used by any individual or organisation that hires the hall, including the Lydbrook Athletic Sports and Social Club.

The officials of the Athletic Club are refusing to cooperate. They have locked the charity (the landlord) out of the bar area, have refused to deactivate the alarm and have pressurised the 'python' drinks dispensing system.

They have been given notice to vacate the bar premises by 4pm on Monday August 12. This date is not negotiable. The trustees wish to assure the residents of Lydbrook, the users of the Memorial Hall, the members of the Lydbrook Athletic Sports and Social Club and the players and supporters of our local football club that we have no dispute with them. We merely wish to upgrade the facilities in our village hall and and make them available to the whole community.

Yours sincerely,

Bruce Hogan (treasurer)

On behalf of the Management Committee.