A new venue has potentially been found for the Hudson Bowls Club in Wisbech after the group were forced out of their hall at the town’s leisure centre for it to be turned into a gym.

The former Padley’s food processing factory in Mount Pleasant Road has been earmarked for the group to move into when they leave the Hudson Leisure Centre later this month.

Members had a successful site meeting at Padley’s to see if it was big enough to convert the space into a green with extra units for changing rooms.

It comes as Fenland District Council [FDC] sold their 15-year lease for their four leisure centres in Wisbech, Chatteris, March and Whittlesey to Freedom Leisure last year.

It meant that the bowls club at the Hudson would have to go as part of the deal.

Matt Hewitt posted on the group’s Facebook page last week to say that the site would be suitable.

It would take about three weeks for the building to have the fittings installed if everything went to plan.

The post read: “After a site meeting at Padley’s, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the site IS big enough to get 4 x 4.6m rinks in after all.

“So, for once, we have some really, really good news for you all!

“The next step is a meeting with the site owners/managers to discuss what they are going to do to the site, how much rent they’re going to want, whether we can have a couple of extra units attached to the unit we want to convert into changing rooms etc.

“It’s all good. It’s the first time I’ve seen the unit for myself and I think that it is possible to get a facility that is better than the one we are losing.”

In January club members thought that an empty venue in Long Sutton could be an “ideal alternative” but was decided against after being too expensive.

The former Padley’s factory sold last February two years after owners Moy Park closed its operation in the town.