Hollywood Bowl bosses urge government to allow them to re-open in Milton Keynes

Hollywood Bowl had put a string of safety measures in place ready to open its 60 centres across the UK on July 4, when lockdown eased for many other types of leisure businesses.

But bowling was unexpectedly not on the list of venues allowed to re-open.

Stephen Burns, chief executive at Hollywood Bowl Group, said: “Ten-pin bowling is a sector that is ready to operate in a Covid secure manner. We have worked incredibly hard to ensure we are adhering to the operational protocols around social distancing policies, capacity management and sanitisation and are more than ready to welcome back friends and families to enjoy themselves in a fun and safe environment within our spacious centres.”

He has warned there could be venue closures, loss of jobs and irreparable damage to wider local economies if the government continues to keep ten-pin bowling centres closed.

His view is backed by the Ten Pin Bowling Proprietors Association (TBPA), UK Hospitality and other bowling business owners, who are all urging the government to reconsider their position before it causes "critical damage" to the industry.

In 2019, the industry’s value to the UK economy was £310 million. Ten-pin bowling centres are often anchor tenants in larger leisure and retail parks, meaning they also boost other businesses such as nearby shops and casual-dining restaurants, said Mr Burns.

"In keeping ten-pin bowling centres closed, not only are thousands of families missing out on an affordable, fun activity that they can all enjoy together, but other local businesses also suffer," said a spokesman for the industry.

More than 8,000 people work in the ten-pin bowling industry across the UK and many are currently on furlough.

Hollywood Bowl insists its ten-pin bowling centres are safe and ready to welcome back customers

It says its centres are well-ventilated, large, open spaces meaning they can be easily adapted for social distancing.

Bowling balls are made of low-risk material, because they are non-porous and easy to sanitise between games.

Hollywood Bowl in MK, when it is allowed to re-open, will be introducing enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures. These include:

* Asking customers to wear their own shoes for bowling

* Reducing the number of lanes in play by only using alternate lanes

* Confining groups to individual zones more than two metres apart

* Spacing out amusement machines and bar and diner seating

* Reducing customer capacity at centres and restricting groups to a maximum of six people

* Giving customers the option of wearing disposable gloves

Gary Brimble, general secretary at TBPA said: “Bowling centres have been closed for more than three months and fully expected to be reopening with other hospitality and leisure businesses on the 4th July. Our Covid-safe measures allow for a safe environment for both our customers and staff and our spacious layouts are easily adapted for social distancing.

"Let’s get bowling again, bring some fun back for our customers, protect the jobs of the 8,000 staff and prevent the closure of many bowling centres.”