Coun Herbert Tindall cut the first sod to mark the commencement of work on the site just beside the new state of the art Sport Mulgrave pavilion.

The event was attended by members of the local community and by the team from landscape contractors Cleveland Land Services, which was responsible for creating the adjacent cricket and football pitches in 2007.

The development of the new bowling green has been made possible by generous donations from two major sponsors The Normanby Trust and £20,000 from Yorventure, through funds generated by Yorwaste.

Dougie Raine, chairman of the Mulgrave Community Sports Association, said “This marks another important milestone in the ongoing development of the facilities at Sport Mulgrave. In the coming months we are going to be working on building up Mulgrave Bowling Club which will be a wonderful facility for people of all ages in the local community and beyond.”

Sport Mulgrave is home to Mulgrave Cricket Club and Goldsborough Football Club and also hosts cricket festivals, junior coaching and the Mulgrave Run.

The organising committee of Mulgrave Bowling Club are keen to keep everyone who may be interested in flat green bowls at Sport Mulgrave informed of developments, and will be producing a regular newsletter about the new club and the green. Those who would like to receive this newsletter should contact either Malcolm Lloyd (01947) 893500 or e-mail lloyd.me@btopenworld.com or Adrian Wood (01947) 893085 or atw.sandsend@btinternet.com