Bowlers hedge midgie bets

David Knox 1607 - 1607 • Published 24 Apr 2009 12:30 0 Comments

GREENKEEPERS in Innerleithen are hoping to take the bite out of bowling.

Members of the St Ronan"s club are about to cut down their 100 year-old

hedge in a bid to end miserable months of midgies.

The flying pests have plagued the 60 members for years.

And the club"s committee are confident the creatures will soon disappear when they build a new replacement fence.

Bobby Heaney, president of St Ronan"s Bowling Club, told the Peeblesshire News: 'The midges are getting worse each year - last summer

they were terrible.

'They are definitely living in the hedge and whenever it"s warm they

come out.

'We"re hoping to have the old hedge down during the summer and have it

replaced with a new fence.'

St Ronan"s celebrated it"s centenary five years ago.

And it is thought the current hedge was planted when the club was first

established in 1904.

In recent years it has become overgrown with weeds and many of the original bushes have died leaving unsightly gaps.

Eric Miller, who has been a member at St Ronan"s for four years, is behind the new fence project.

He told us: 'A lot of money has been spent improving the green and bankings as well as putting in a new sprinkler system - it was time to concentrate on the hedge.

"The midges can be terribly unpleasant on warm evenings and we hope by taking the hedge away that it will reduce their numbers.

'We"ll find out in the summer whether it has made a difference.

'The hedge has become very untidy and sparse in areas, so the new fence

will look much better.'

There are 40 different species of midge living in Scotland.

Between May and September females can lay up to 200 eggs before they die

in habitats rich in vegetation such as hedges.

But the historic bowling club hedge sits in Innerleithen"s conservation

area.

And special permission had to be given for its removal.

Scottish Borders Council this week granted approval for the trimmers to come out and a new six-foot fence to go up.

Innerleithen and District Community Council had raised concerns.

Chairman Ross McGinn said: 'St Ronan"s Bowling Club is doing very well just now but we would have preferred if they had kept the hedge.

'We don"t have a big issue with this but some of our members thought the

hedge was worth fighting for.'

The new fence as well as other refurbishment work will cost around £12,000.

St Ronan"s Bowling Club opened for the season last weekend and holds weekly welcome session every Monday and Thursday afternoon.

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This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 24 Apr 09

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