SILSDEN politicians have welcomed the postponement of plans to force bowling clubs to pay for their own grass cutting.

District and town councillors Adrian Naylor and Chris Atkinson had led objections to Bradford Council’s proposals, which were part of its draft 2015/16 budget.

Bradford had wanted to cut £10,000 from its annual bill for cutting the grass at council-owned bowling greens across the district.

The Silsden councillors feared that that clubs would each have to pay thousands of pounds a year if they had to arrange their own grass cutting.

They claimed that clubs, whose members are mostly older people, were not given enough time to seek alternative funding or warn players that their membership fees could increase dramatically.

Cllr Naylor said clubs now had 12 months to investigate alternative sources of funding.

Cllr Atkinson, the Silsden town mayor, said that instead of targeting bowling clubs City Hall should scrap its plans to spend millions of pounds on a new Bradford swimming pool.

He added: “While walking around a bowling green older people are not in doctor’s surgeries, they are getting out and getting healthy.”