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Please see below an open letter to members as construction begins on our new four-lane net facility, a project which has been made possible following an extensive fundraising effort...
Dear all,
We are delighted to announce that this week construction on phase one of the four lane outdoor artificial net facility commenced at St George’s Road, with our partners Total-Play. This has been a long time in the making and it no doubt feels like the funds were raised a long time ago back in April and May 2023.
Download and view the Design Plan below...
We would like to thank all our members, friends, sponsors and supporters for their generosity in supporting the crowdfunding campaign and in helping to raise the funds for this fantastic project. We would also like to thank everyone for their patience whilst we have gone through the process of designing the facility and obtaining planning permission.
Given construction is now underway, and we have some positive news to share, we felt like now was a good time to provide an update on the project, provide further information about it and outline some of the challenges that we have faced.
One of the initial challenges was finding a suitable site for a four lane facility. The Management Board and various other agencies were keen to ensure that we maintained as much of the practice ground as possible and that we also built the artificial nets in a place that would not encroach on any site for an indoor facility in the future. It had initially been proposed to build the four lane facility adjacent to the two existing net lanes. However, this would have encroached on the potential site for an indoor facility and, moreover, the site would have interfered with a large Victorian drain that runs across the entire practice ground. In the end the only suitable site was to place the nets at the top of the practice ground immediately below the mound leading from the back pitch down to the practice pitch. This site was the only place a four lane facility could go without interfering with the drainage, the site for the indoor school and without rendering large parts of the practice ground redundant. The one downside is that we will lose a number of the grass practice lanes for the 2024 season. The artificial project will mean that part of the grass practice square will be lost. However, with the help of our brilliant groundsman we intend to extend the grass practice square from the bottom at the end of the 2024 season and to have four or five new grass lanes operational by 2025 or 2026. Once that has been achieved we will have some of the finest outdoor practice facilities in the country.
The second challenge has been obtaining planning permission. After a fairly lengthy process, and some required revisions, that has now been fully achieved. We are grateful to North Yorkshire Council for their assistance and guidance with the planning process.
In relation to the design, we attach the plans at the top of this blog for the four lane facility. A lot of thought has gone into the design. We have taken the recommendations of various parties and consulted extensively with the firm responsible for the design and construction. The final design will provide an outstanding practice facility for cricketers in Harrogate.
The positive news is that the first phase of the construction has now commenced. This involves the laying of the base and the installation of the perimeter fencing. Phase one is taking place during the course of this week and next week (weeks commencing 12th and 19th February 2024). There is then a period of time where the base has to set and a period of time in which the frames, poles and carpets are manufactured. Phase two will involve the installation of the frames, nets and the artificial matting. We do not have a firm date for the construction of the second and final phase. This is subject to manufacturing lead times. However, we are very hopeful that construction will be complete within the first half of the season.
Once we have a firm date for the completion of the final construction works we will communicate this to all our members, friends and supporters. We will be holding an event to mark the opening of the new net facility and we will communicate plans for this in due course.
Finally, we would like to once again thank all our members, friends, sponsors and supporters for their overwhelming generosity in providing the funds to allow us to build this fantastic facility. It will make a massive difference to junior and senior cricketers within the Harrogate area and will massively improve the practice facilities at St George’s Road.
If you have any questions about the project, please do not hesitate to contact Steve Clark [07919 681533] or George Owram [07766000853].
Thank you once again for your support.
Regards
George Owram and Steve Clark
Joint Chairs
Harrogate Cricket Club
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