THE members of Bude-Stratton Town Council unanimously agreed to take on the running of the town’s Pitch and Putt facility at their monthly full council meeting on Thursday, September 7.

Bude Pitch and Putt isn’t currently in use, but all members in attendance agreed that they should run the piece of land for the duration of the current council.

During the 1980s it was an extremely good money maker with mayor, Cllr Peter Moores, saying: “I think it was either 1984 or 1985 where the Bude Pitch and Putt earned £40,000 in one year.”

One of the clubs the council hope to see benefit is the local croquet club, which has been in existence for less than 12 months.

Cllr Julia Bryson said: “I would really like to see the croquet people use it. They really want to be there.”

Cllr Frank Partridge agreed, and even suggested some other uses.

He said: “I think we should run it in house. We reserved two of the pitches. Maybe we could have nine-holes for golf or even mini-golf.”

The only councillor to initially question whether it was a good idea to take on the immediate running of the Pitch and Putt was Norman Tucker, who said: “Although I agree that it could be a good thing for us to run the Pitch and Putt, I think it’s a little bit early to be making decisions. We need to write up plans and discuss with the croquet club and make sure we’re doing the right thing. It’s slightly early.”

The town’s responsible financial officer, Keith Cornwell, added that other local clubs have been in touch about the possibility of using the site.

Mr Cornwell said: “Other organisations have contacted us saying that they’d be interested but we haven’t discussed any figures.”

Cllr Lea Deely said: “Make sure you ask for tenders and see what they’re offering.”

Cllr Peter Kelly proposed that the council run the facility for the duration of the current council.

The proposal was unanimously backed by the councillors.