Slinfold cricket project: Club makes plea to neighbours

In 2019 they were promoted back into division three of the Sussex League, posting 13 wins along the way.

And, last year, despite the truncated season, they made the very best of their opportunities by carrying off the inaugural Sussex Slam, playing enterprising, entertaining cricket throughout the tournament.

But, that was not all. Club captain Sean Overton enthused: “2020 was a fantastic season for us - on top of winning our August Cup Final and the Mirfield earlier in the month, our 2nds also won their section of the August competition!”

With an important milestone beckoning – the club’s 250th anniversary, cricket having been played on the ground for the better part of 200 years – Slinfold are anxious to build on their success by improving the facilities at their ground, at the same time providing an asset for the village community.

The intention is to create a lasting legacy of which the club and village can be justifiably proud.

Vice-chairman Martyn Haines explained: “Our present arrangements do not meet the standards laid down by the league: our aged clubhouse, a former tote hut at Lingfield Park racecourse, has done sterling service, but it’s almost 100 years old and has long since been inadequate and has had to be supplemented by the erection of marquees for changing room and social purposes.

“Also, the wicket is too close to comply with minimum boundary measurements. Furthermore, as well as being too small, the existing clubhouse building has become increasingly more expensive to repair. Additionally, the existing grass car park and access to the club is limited to dry weather use only.”

Over the past 16 years, the club have been developing plans to design and fund a new club pavilion in conjunction with Slinfold Parish Council, reflecting the spirit of the Neighbourhood Plan in accordance with central government and district directives.

In conjunction with a housing developer, Slinfold Ground Trustees have secured the substantial amount of funding required to build a new pavilion and car park. The scheme would involve the release of a narrow strip of land for the purpose of access to a small new housing development behind the ground.

As Slinfold village and the cricket ground are especially attractive, changes will always be sensitive and the club have taken considerable steps to accommodate the wishes of local residents, including the retention of all trees.

Nevertheless, while 83% of residents who voted in the 2018 Neighbourhood Plan were in favour of the proposals, some issues remain.

Following the unexpected rejection of the scheme by Horsham District Council, Haines said: “I’ve lived in the village for almost my entire life and played cricket on the ground since I was a boy, and both are very important to me, so I’m insistent that nothing out of keeping will be done.

“Delivering change is always a challenge, but the value of the funding is diminishing as time goes by, and my fear is that the village could end up losing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to install this new modern recreational and social community asset.

“We are an ambitious club, keen to play cricket at a higher level, which we feel the proposed facilities would promote. We are also particularly eager to encourage even more youth players into playing cricket. Therefore, the committee hope the village will back the mutually beneficial scheme - the outline planning application (DC/21/0109) has gone into HDC, with written support required by February 16.”