Over-60s club ‘has flourished since sale’

THE Henley 60-Plus Club is “flourishing” after 30 years of council ownership, says a town councillor.

Gill Dodds said she wanted to thank the town council for its support of the club in Greys Road car park.

The council bought the building in 1992 for £80,000 to prevent it from being redeveloped.

The club first opened in the Seventies following a campaign by former mayor Francis Sheppard as place for those aged over 60 to relax, socialise and make friends.

Councillor Dodds, who is chair of the club’s management committee, told a council meeting: “The club is hugely thankful to this council.

“It was owned by the Henley Education Charity and they were going to turn it into offices.

“We managed to persuade this council to buy it — one of the best investments it has ever made — and also to give us a generous grant.

“It’s flourishing. We have a membership approaching 100, we have two managers and we do lunches on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Friday is always a roast dinner for £8.50, which is incredible value.

“We go for breakeven — we don’t go to make money out of it.”

The club served 3,250 meals last year. It also holds a variety of entertainment events including bingo, craft fairs and, starting this year, chair yoga.

Cllr Dodds said: “We have had huge support from the Tony Lane Foundation and with Councillor [Ken] Arlett we managed to raise £50,000 to redo our kitchen. Half of that was paid for by the foundation and all the other charities so we are very well supported.

“I can only say that because this town council owns the building, it’s safe. If it was owned by the county council it would have been closed ages ago.

“People say, ‘Why don’t we have more clubs like this?’ and that’s because we have done it, we own it, we control it, which is absolutely wonderful.

“Members say to me, ‘I don’t know what we would do without this club’, so I just say thank you to this town council from all the members and people there.”

Councilor Kellie Hinton was re-elected as the council’s representative on the club’s management committee.

She joked: “It’s still the most decent place in Henley for a meal, so I’m going there for the meals really — and the parties.

“I bumped into a 92-year-old man today. He said the crowd there was getting a little bit too young.”

For more information about the club, call (01491) 574718.