A Broughty Ferry bowling pavilion which has fallen into a state of disrepair is set for a new lease of life thanks to a local amateur football club.

Broughty United Youth have recently signed a 25-year lease on the old bowling green and pavilion at Orchar Park.

It comes five years after Dundee City Council closed its last remaining bowling clubs –  including Orchar Park – as part of a £60,000 cost cutting exercise.

The Broughty Ferry pavilion has since become a target for vandalism, leading to local councillor Craig Duncan calling for the facility to be repurposed.

Football club dates back to 1970s

Broughty United’s acquisition of the Orchar pavilion is a full circle moment for the club, who started out playing at the park over half a century ago.

Club secretary Iain Birnie said: “Broughty United was founded by a couple of schoolboys back in 1973 and we played our first games at Orchar.

Broughty United have signed a 25-year lease. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson.

Dundee City Council closed the facility in 2020. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson.

“So we have history going back 50 years at the building.

“It was around three years ago when the council invited tenders to take on the pavilion but we lost out to a commercial organisation.

“However, that never happened and last August, the council came back to us to see if we were still interested and we were.”

Phased refurbishment planned

The club are planning a multi-phased refurbishment programme and hope the first stage of the work could be complete by the end of the year.

Iain said: “Phase one consists of a few things. Firstly, we are applying for funding to paint the exterior of the building in our club colours. It’s looking pretty shabby.

The former bowling green is overgrown. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson.

Interior of the former bowling pavilion.  Image: Kim Cessford /DC Thomson

“We are going to install racking in the basement so each team gets its own place on the rack.

“Secondly, we want to develop the old bowling green so we can use it for ‘Fun Fours’ and ‘Super Fives’ training and games.

“Thirdly, we want to refurbish the exterior toilets, these have been out of commission for quite a while.”

A community effort

The refurbishment of the pavilion is very much a team effort and Iain is open to as many of the local community helping out as possible.

“We have 350 kids and 60 coaches so there are a lot of people that can help with this, which is great”, he added.

Harry Locherty, Club President,  and Iain Birnie, Club Secretary. Image: Kim Cessford / DC Thomson.

“But we are sending a message out to Broughty Ferry, we are here and if you want to do good things, come and help us.”