Warwick Conservative Club

News - this article appeared in The Warwick Courier on 26th March 2006.

TORY CLUB 'A SECRET GEM'

It is not often that a "secret gem" could remain unearthed in one of the busiest streets of a town centre.

Now, with more than 500 members, one could question how well kept a secret the Warwick Conservative Club is — but it hasn't always been so popular.

The number of members on the club's books has almost doubled in the three years that Keith Hinton has been chairman and he says it is all down to a refurbishment, a superb location and a dearth of entertainment suitable to those above the age of 45 in the town centre.

The former Wheatsheaf landlord said: "It is a meet and greet type of place now, but before it was refurbished you couldn't see in the windows because they were boarded up, the decor was dark and dingy and people didn't know what sort of things we did."

Links between the club and the Conservative party are easy to see, its walls adorned with portrait pictures of past Conservative leaders, but the political allegiances of those visiting the Swan Street site are largely left at the door.

The benefits are far more important: organised live music twice a month and cheaper beer are among some that members can enjoy, especially if it is traditional hand-pulled Mild. The club is proud to be the only place in Warwick to sell it, according to Mr Hinton. There is also a grand snooker room upstairs which proves popular with members and was once used as a location in the BBC drama Dangerfield.

"First and foremost we are a social club," Mr Hinton pointed out. "You don't have to be a member of the Conservative party in order to join. All you have to do is say you support the Conservative party. We run this place like a business and are totally self-sufficient. People don't come in here to talk politics, they come here to mix."

Mr Hinton, of Pinley Green near Shrewley, has been chairman since 2003 but a member for the past 22 years and is also part of the Warwick Court Leet and Rotary Club. He added: "Most of the people who socialise here are 45 plus. But that's because most of the other bars in the town centre are looking to attract younger people."

"Hardly anywhere else has live music and quite often a pint will cost more than £2.50 - here it's £1.90."

The site, which used to be townhouses before 1901 when it was established as the Warwick Constitutional Club, would be a developer's dream and similar clubs have fallen to builders' persuasion in recent years.

The West End Club in Birmingham Road and the Lammas Club have both been sold off for housing. Mr Hinton said: "There is no chance of that happening here. It is a great location and we are self-reliant but, like any club, we need the support of our members."

"Being so central you get complacent but Warwick is now a very large area and we have found, despite all the improvements, that there will be many people who don't know this secret gem is here. Warwick is a great community town, it takes a while for people to get to know you but when they do, they are friends for life. That is what I have found since I have been coming here."

Warwick Conservative Club is open every day and new members are welcome.

Call 491315 for more details.

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News - this article appeared in The Warwick Observer on 19th May 2005.

Poleaxed by row over paint shade

WARWICK District Council has been accused of pettiness in a row over the colour of a flagpole. Warwick Conservative Club got permission from planning chiefs to hoist the Union Jack outside its Swan Street headquarters — but on the condition that the white flagpole is re-painted a darker colour.

A letter sent to the club ordered the colour of the flagpole to be changed within two months, as it "emphasises the prominence of the display and this does not harmonise with the materials of the building."

Club chairman Keith Hinton is refusing to comply with the council's demand. He said: "We've been told it has to blend in with the building, but flagpoles are always white - you just need to look around the town for examples. Taxpayers' money is being wasted by the council pursuing this."

And David Grundy, managing director of flagpole specialists United Flags told the Gazette the council was flying in the face of standard practice.

He added: "In ten years we have never made a flagpole that isn't white. It's the accepted norm."

But district council spokesman Richard Brooker said the request was in keeping with normal planning regulations, and insisted the council could take legal action if the white flagpole is not changed.

He added: "This is a large flag, protruding out of the first floor window, in a conservation area, which was almost rejected when it was first discussed by the planning committee.

"A condition for flagpoles like this is they must be painted a dark colour."

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