Few patches of grass have played such an iconic role in English history. But for the bowling green where Sir Francis Drake was reputedly brought news of the Spanish Armada, time may be about to run out.
The green on Plymouth Hoe is threatened with closure as a result of cuts of more than £10 million proposed by the city council. This week the council decided that users of the council-run green, not taxpayers, should in future be responsible for its upkeep as a contribution to David Cameron’s Big Society.
The three clubs that use the green say that their combined income of less than £5,000 a year is not even a quarter of the £20,000 annual cost of keeping the green open. They warn