Pirie Street residents have reported a significant upswing in the after-hours parties occurring at the Victoria Bowling Club on the edge of the Town Belt over the summer. In early January a very large party with a live band ran into the small hours of the morning, leading us to wonder about how the Bowling Club reconciled its supposedly sporting activities with renting the facilities to partygoers.

The Bowling Club is located on the Town Belt, which means it leases the land from the Wellington City Council. The Town Belt Deed requires that all activities on the Town Belt are recreational in nature, a provision that seems to have excluded the Crossways Creche from using the Bandoliers site at the top of Majoribanks Street. So how is renting out the Bowling Club buildings to all comers as a party venue consistent with the lease to the Club?

We asked the Council about this, and the Property section kindly sent us a copy of the lease to the Bowling Club. It clearly states:

The premises shall be used for the purpose of the sport of bowls, and such other functions reasonably required by the Lessee for its social activities but for no other purpose whatsoever without the prior written consent of the Lessor AND THEN subject to such conditions as the Lessor in its absolute discretion thinks fit, including the imposition of a different sum as rental.

Seems pretty plain to us - it's a bowling club, not an extension of Courtenay Place. However when we called Lou Newman from the Bowling Club and asked about whether renting the facilities for parties was permitted, he informed us that the Bowling Club could use the premises for anything it liked.

Of course, that's not what the lease says.

We understand that the Council has a meeting with the Bowling Club to discuss the concerns of local residents in the coming weeks, and we'll keep everyone informed about whether Party Central will be continuing on in its current form.