Colchester Hollywood Bowl's bowling lanes '15ft short'

The bowling alley, which has 26 lanes, opened on June 26 as part of the Northern Gateway Leisure Park development.

But the Gazette understands the venue will not be suitable for league matches or competitions because the lanes are 47ft long – 15ft short of the 62ft requirement set out by the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA).

New – Hollywood Bowl opened on Monday, June 22 (Image: Cameron Poole, Newsquest)

The situation has bemused Karen Mills, a competitive bowler who has represented Great Britain at the World Transplant Games.

She said: “We were very excited to have a new bowling alley at Hollywood Bowl.

“A friend of my husband’s had it on good authority the lanes wouldn’t be full length.

“Lanes have to be a set length to make them eligible for British Tenpin Bowling Association (BTBA) competitions."

Mrs Mills, 38, of Monkwick, admits the "average, social bowler" probably "won’t even notice”, but added: “For a sport, it’s like telling Manchester United to go and play on a half-length football pitch.

Frustrated – Karen Mills said the alley at Hollywood Bowl are not appropriate for competitive bowlers (Image: Newsquest)

“It’s not conducive to be able to perfect the art of hooking – that’s when it looks like the ball is going straight and then goes in a different direction.

“The ball will hook at a certain point, and you will get a strike, if the lanes are the right length.”

Sarah Macnab, centre manager at Hollywood Bowl Colchester, defended the new facility.

She said: “The new £5.5 million centre at Northern Gateway Leisure Park brings affordable family fun and entertainment to the area.

“The decision to install shorter lanes was carefully considered during the design process to ensure that we created the best and most accessible bowling experience possible for everyone to enjoy in the space available.”