Somers club has £20k bill

A Black Country sports and social club saved from the axe faces a £20,000 bill, it has been revealed.

Somers Sports and Social Club reached agreement over rent at The Grange, Halesowen, and no longer faces eviction but chairman Paul Hill said they still had to pay solicitors' fees.

The club is launching a fundraising campaign.

It was allowed to use the 250-year-old building free since the 1950s but two years ago rent and maintenance fees were imposed, which the club was struggling to pay.

A possession hearing was due at Birmingham County Court on Monday but club directors said yesterday they had agreed with Walter Somers Employees Trust Trustees to lease the building and grounds for at least ten years. The club is now separate to the trust and membership not restricted to those connected to the ex- Walter Somers factory.