Having already taken steps to reduce its carbon footprint, Leisure operator Bowlplex, is continuing to look for new initiatives to save even more energy.

With the help of partners including the Carbon Trust, Dorset Resource Efficiency Club and Southern Electrical Supplies, Bowlplex has already reduced its environmental impact, and in 2007 £10,000 was invested in changing 34% of the company’s light bulbs to low energy bulbs. This year a further 35% of all lighting will be replaced, and by 2009 all Bowlplex centres will have low energy bulbs.

Ben Carne, Bowlplex safety, health and environment manager said:

Bowlplex is continuing to implement energy saving initiatives in all 16 family entertainment centres throughout the UK.

Southern Electrical Supplies is providing us with low energy ten-pin bowling lane lights and new electrical circuits that will allow us to use lower energy bulbs. By making these simple editions to our centres we can make a huge impact on our energy efficiency, therefore reducing our carbon footprint to help the environment.”

Trevor Dumbleton, managing director of Southern Electrical Supplies said:

Bowlplex is committed to saving energy and reducing their carbon footprint, so by working together our aim is to replace all existing lamps, like for like, with low energy equivalents, using the latest technology in compact fluorescent and LED lamps.

The benefits are almost instant, wattages are lowered, lamp life is almost doubled, and routine maintenance significantly reduced. A particular success was replacing the 400w lamps above the bowling lanes with 200w metal halide arc lamps; this produced the same light output but halved the energy usage.

Rolling this program out across their 16 family entertainment centres nationally, shows their commitment to energy saving.

Bowlplex has 16 total entertainment centres located across the UK, including the site on Basingstoke Leisure Park, providing families with a number of leisure facilities including ten-pin bowling, arcade technology in Video World, Ticket Town - fun redemption games for children, the late-licensed Stadium Sports Bar, grill and the American Pool Pit.

Since showcasing their first online booking system at Basingstoke Bowlplex, the family entertainment operator has confirmed its ten-pin bowling bookings have increased as customers enjoy the freedom to book at their own leisure.

Bowlplex introduced the online booking system on the 1st April giving customers the ease of booking ten-pin bowling games from the comfort of their own home. This new convenient way of booking games has seen an increased in popularity as the word has got out that you can bypass the queue and not have the disappointment of being unable to play at the time you wish when the centre is busy.

Vanessa Aylett, general manager at Basingstoke Bowlplex said:

The response from or customers has been fantastic! Everyone loves the convenience of booking a game of ten-pin bowling at any time of the day or night in the comfort of their own home.

It is not just the ten-pin bowling games that are being booked online, the children’s birthday parties and corporate party packages have also been a popular choice for online booking as it can be done so far in advance, for example we are already receiving bookings for our Christmas bowling parties.

Due to the success of Basingstoke Bowlplex’s new online booking system the initiative will be rolled out across the other 15 Bowlplex centres across the UK.

Following the Easter half term holiday, one of the busiest times of the year for leisure operator Bowlplex, the company has reported an upturn in its trading figures.

Having welcomed thousands of people during the holiday period to the 16 family entertainment centres, including Basingstoke, Bowlplex saw trade increase by a staggering 20% compared to the same period last year.

Bowlplex sales and marketing manager, Simon Barnett said:

During the Easter school holiday all of the Bowlplex centres were extremely busy as people enjoyed the many facilities we have on offer including ten pin bowling.

Considering the current economic climate and the trend for families to be reigning in on spending, we are very pleased to have an increase on the trading figures.

Bowlplex’s strength in the ten-pin bowling market is set to grow even stronger in 2008 with a further two sites opening at the end of the year, bringing the total number of UK centres to 18.

Basingstoke is getting set for the start of a brand new online radio station with imminent launch of radiobasingstoke.com at 1pm on Wednesday 1st May.

Radio Basingstoke is set to give north Hampshire bands and artists of all genres a new and unique opportunity to showcase their work online around the globe.

Bands and artists are being invited to have the chance of having a half-hour programme dedicated to their work on a show hosted by Radio Basingstoke’s Station Manager, Lee Williams, who will interview the artists and play their promotional CD’s on air. The programme will air three times over a two week period at different times of the day.

The CD will also feature as their “Artist of the Week” on a new website to be launched soon.

Radio Basingstoke is a joint venture by local music management company Astrid Music Management and Public Relations consultancy Headline Promotions Press & PR, will play music of all genres round the clock and,
whilst there will be some presenters, there will be less chatter and more music.

Though the radio station is funded by commercials, these will be kept to three minute segments each half hour.

Station Manager, Lee Williams said:

Radio Basingstoke is a community radio station, at the heart of our local community, and support of local artists is part of our mission. During our early days, until such time as we obtain sponsorship for some programmes, we will ask for a contribution of £200 from our featured artists. Once we obtain commercial sponsorship then there will be no charge!

Artists wishing to showcase their work can submit details by e-mail to john@radiobasingstoke.com

Asked if he was confident of the future of Internet radio, Williams said:

A recent report claimed that internet radio has hit the mainstream. More than 8 million people in the UK listen to web-based radio services every week and nearly 2 million download podcasts on a weekly basis, according to a survey that suggests internet radio has hit the mainstream.

Commissioned by the industry’s audience research body Rajar, the Ipsos Mori survey last autumn found that more than 12 million people have listened to the radio online and 8.1 million listen every week either through live streaming or “listen again” services.

Ipsos Mori found that 75% of users do not listen to less live radio as a result of listening again online, with 50% tuning into new shows as a result.

For Radio Basingstoke, this is good news. Williams (pictured with John Hicks, MD of Headline Promotions, Press & PR) said:

This survey proves what we in the radio industry already knew! We are looking forward to the forthcoming launch of Radio Basingstoke on 1st May and this news is very positive for us.

Tasked more about the use of “community” in their mission statement, Williams explained that two local schools, Bishop Challoner RC School and Costello
Technology College, are working on weekly shows produced by groups of students. In addition, local presenters will be featured and there will be
extensive “what’s on” coverage, through the website and on-air programming. Further, local job opportunities will be featured to help jobseekers.

There are also opportunities for the general public to become involved. These range from being able to text requests to the station (0787 401 6433) through to
volunteering to master their new MySpace presence at www.myspace.com/radiobasingstoke.

In particular, the station will heavily feature news of what is happening
in the local community so anyone with an upcoming event is asked to e-mail full details to events@radiobasingstoke.com.

For a radio station for north Hampshire, the name Radio Basingstoke was an obvious choice. Williams discloses though that it was actually a close run
thing with “Amazingstoke” until it was found that an enterprising author has already registered amazingstoke dotcom. However, he was happy for the
station to adopt it as part of their logo which will soon be displayed prominently around the district.

This is not the first time Williams and Hicks have collaborated. They are co-founders of the award-winning CMR Nashville Radio, Europe’s leading country music radio station.

Radio Basingstoke will be found on www.radiobasingstoke.com through your PC, internet radio and many popular mobile phones.

Leisure operator, Bowlplex, is reducing its carbon footprint in all 16 of its family entertainment centres, including Basingstoke, with the implementation of a number of energy saving schemes.

With the help of partners including the Carbon Trust, Dorset Resource Efficiency Club and Powertech Solar, Bowlplex is working hard to further reduce its environmental impact.
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Family leisure operator, Bowlplex is the only UK company to walk away with three awards in a prestigious international awards ceremony, beating the best leisure centres throughout the world!

With a bowling centre in Basingstoke, Bowplex, won a staggering four awards in the 23rd Annual Bowlers Journal Bowling Centre, Architecture and Design Awards; the ten-pin bowling equivalent of the “Oscars”.

Fighting off some of the top names in the business, Bowlplex were awarded:

• The platinum winner, coming first for ‘Best Renovated Interior’
• ‘Best Renovated Ancillary Profit Centre’ for its Video World arcade
• ‘Best Renovated Bar/Lounge’ for Bowlplex’s Tower Park centre in Poole
• Diamond, second place winner in the ‘New Ancillary Profit Centre’ for the Poole Pit at Bowlplex Xscape, Braehead, Scotland.

Bowlplex managing director Tracy Standish said:

It is a great honour to win so many awards in an event which includes all the best bowling centres from across the world!

To be the only company to win from the UK, and to be successful against companies from America, who are seen as being at the forefront of bowling entertainment is a great achievement.

Bowlplex continually strives for excellence to offer the best in entertainment. The awards prove that Bowlplex continues to deliver cutting edge design and that the family entertainment concept is one, which is growing in popularity in the UK.

To keep Bowlplex at the top we ensure that all 16 Bowlplex centre are updated every six years. The Bowlplex mission to keep all centres at their best in both design and entertainment allows the company to win against all the other top leisure companies throughout the world!

Bowlplex was established in 1984 and has a total of 16 centres throughout the UK, including the site at Basingstoke Leisure Park.

The school summer holiday now feels like a distant memory, but Basingstoke Bowlplex is keeping the fun going for local children by bringing the classroom to the bowling lanes!

Schools throughout the area are taking advantage of the Bowlplex education pack, which encourages children to learn a number of Key Stage subjects outside the classroom environment

Since the introduction of the Bowlplex education packs last year, the popularity of ten-pin bowling as a springboard to educational subjects has grown.

Bowlplex marketing manager, Simon Barnett said:

Bowlplex is the perfect environment for children to learn and develop their skills in a number of subjects, from maths to information technology and design.

The government’s ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ Manifesto, which encourages schools to experience education in a new environment, backs Bowlplex’s aim, to provide children and young people with a variety of learning experiences in a fun way.

The popularity of school visits to Basingstoke Bowlplex has increased month by month and since the schools returned after the summer break this trend has continued and we have bookings throughout the year for classes from Year 1 right through to Year 9.

The great advantage of learning outside the classroom in a Bowlplex centre is the fact that it provides a stimulating and safe environment for children to learn, whilst being a lot of fun at the same time!

The Bowlplex educational packs include Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 lessons in science, geography, literacy, maths, information technology and design. For further information or to download the Bowlplex education pack visit www.bowlplex.co.uk.

On Friday 28th September, a Basingstoke venue’s contribution to country music here in the UK will be recognised when the legendary George Hamilton IV (pictured) presents a special award to The Academy live music venue on Worting Road at his live concert.

The award, sponsored by the leading country music radio station across Europe CMR Nashville Radio, and voted for by musicians themselves will be presented by Mr Hamilton, the International Ambassador of Country Music, “in recognition of The Academy’s development of an enviable live music venue at which country music artists from around the world are proud to perform”.

The Academy has hosted performances by leading UK artists such as Easy Rider, Henry J Smith’s Country Dreams, Cathy McManamon, Rachael Warwick and Brendan Quinn. In addition, top US country stars Hal Ketchum, Lisa O’Kane and Bobby D Sawyer have graced the stage of this unique complex which boasts a snooker & pool centre, sports bar as well as a popular Chinese restaurant.

CMR Nashville Radio station controller, country music TV and radio presenter Lee Williams, said:

The Academy’s support for country music has been received enthusiastically throughout the industry worldwide and is demonstrated by the ability of the venue to attract major acts such as Brendan Quinn, Hal Ketchum and Lisa O’Kane.

This was undoubtedly a result of the passion for live music held by The Academy’s General Manager, John Hicks. CMR Nashville Radio is delighted to have been part of this development but the award stems from the buzz within the industry which has generated considerable interest and excitement amongst performers who wish to support the work of the venue.

The presentation will be made at George Hamilton IV’s concert where he is being supported by one of the top UK country band led by Tony Goodacre, awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK Radio Awards ceremony in 2007 for his contribution to country music. Tickets are available at the venue or its website.