Huge Cricket Ground approved
The final decison rests with the government - but a huge new cricket facility that will bring some of the sport’s most high-profile matches to Central Lancashire has now been given the go-ahead by councillors
Last updated 2nd Mar 2023
A huge new cricket facility that will bring some of the sport’s most high-profile matches to Central Lancashire has been given the go-ahead by councillors.
Farington is set to become a second home for Lancashire Cricket under plans for a prestigious new ground to be built to the west of Stanifield Lane.
The 5,000-spectator venue secured the support of Lancashire County Council’s development control committee – but will now require final approval from the government before it can get off the drawing board, because of the scale of the proposal.
If that consent is granted, South Ribble will be the stage for up to six men’s T20 matches a year, a further two four-day fixtures for the county men’s team and six Lancashire women’s teams games.
The near 14-hectare greenbelt site – which will include two full-size cricket ovals, a two-storey pavilion building and practice nets – will also support the development of youth, community and women’s cricket in the region.
However, locals living closest to the development were not fully bowled over by the blueprint – with several of them raising concerns over the potential noise impact of the new ground on their currently quiet and bucolic rural neighbourhood. Those fears hinged not just on the sporting plans for the plot, but also the use of the pavilion for weddings and other similar gatherings on up to 50 occasions per year.
Nearby resident Peter Francis told the committee meeting that a proposed function suite, which could cater for up to 160 people , would be “highly unlikely” to receive permission in the greenbelt location if it had been put forward as a standalone facility.
He also highlighted local concern over the positioning of the practice nets on the site’s boundary with the residential Fowler Avenue – and the disturbance that could be generated by that element of the scheme.
“At no point have we said that we do not see the benefits of this community development, but we’re asking for consideration for us as residents and we don’t believe we’re getting that,” Mr. Francis said.
He explained to committee members – who visited the site late last week – that locals had put forward an alternative layout to address their concerns, which would see the practice nets and pavilion relocated.
However, as the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed back in November, original plans to put the nets in a different location to that now proposed had to be rethought when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) demanded that they be installed next to the pavilion so as to ensure the safety and security of users – particularly younger cricketers.
A five-metre-high acoustic fence will enclose the nets, which will themselves be installed one-and-a-half metres below the existing ground level in order to provide further noise mitigation. A condition has been agreed to restrict year-round use of the practice area and its 12 wickets to 8pm.
Committee members were also told that the pavilion’s location and western-facing aspect had been chosen largely so that spectators would not be looking directly into the sun when watching the sporting action, while also being partially sheltered from the prevailing wind.
Former England and Lancashire county cricketer Paul Allott, speaking in support of the proposal, said that the “design and positioning of the pavilion is fundamental to the successful operation and appeal of the complex”.
He added: “The new facility will also help our Lancashire cricket foundation , the charitable arm of Lancashire Cricket, deliver a number of the ECB’s nationwide cricket programmes – such as All Stars Cricket and Dynamos – to the aspiring youth of the local Lancashire community.
“Herein lies the aim of increasing participation in the game of cricket, with the associated benefits for health, fitness and wellbeing that will come from this.
“Lancashire Cricket are highly experienced at staging major events with minimal disruption to the local community,” said Mr. Allott, who was director of Lancashire Cricket from 2018 until 2021.
A report presented to the committee noted that Old Trafford was now operating at beyond its maximum capacity, with international cricket, elite Lancashire men’s and women’s fixtures and 100-ball competitions all now part of the busy seasonal schedule.
County Hall planning officer Jonathan Haine said that the noise from the ovals at the Farington site would be “low”, except for the up to 20 ticketed matches a year when the facility could be expected to attract the largest crowds – with the maximum gate only likely to be reached for the six T20 games.
It was acknowledged at the committee meeting that the 500 parking spaces proposed for the site, across three different car parks, would be inadequate for the biggest cricketing events that the facility would host. But members were told that the location was well-served by buses and trains and that there was the option to create park and ride facilities in the vicinity.
Mr. Haine added that a condition requiring non-cricketing use of the function suite to end by 11pm should ensure that it was “acceptable” to nearby residents.
Committee chair Matthew Maxwell-Scott suggested that the operation of a bin store close to the boundary of the site should be prohibited after 8pm and also have a roof added to its design in order to guard against noise that could “wake the dead” when bottles were being disposed of.
With that amendment – and another requiring the retention of two trees that would otherwise have been felled – the application was voted through by the committee.
The matter will now be passed to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, who will have the final say on the plans.
Speaking after the meeting, Lancashire County Council leader Phillippa Williamson said that councillors had approved, in principle, a “fantastic project” that would result in “a first-class cricket ground in the heart of Lancashire”.
She added: “We’re proud to be working with Lancashire Cricket to bring this elite cricket facility to the county. We now await the Secretary of State’s decision on this project.
“As well as providing new jobs and a significant boost to our economy, creating these fantastic facilities will support recreational cricket as we encourage more people to take part in and enjoy the sport as well as wider community use.”
Andy Anson OBE, chair of Lancashire Cricket, spoke of the organisation’s delight at the committee decision.
“We’ve been working with the county council on this exciting project for some time now and the new development will provide fantastic elite facilities for both our men’s and women’s squads, as well as for recreational cricket and wider community use.
“With the number of international and domestic cricket matches, as well as other events, being held at Emirates Old Trafford, the need for a second ground has become vital. The development will be a first of its kind in domestic cricket and we look forward to seeing work start on the site over the course of the year.
“We will keep our members and supporters updated on its progress. I would like to personally thank the county council for their support.”
‘SPECTATORS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE INTO MY BEDROOM’
A Fowler Avenue resident told councillors that she feared cricket fans would get a view of some of the most private parts of her home – as well the match they had come to see.
Mary Bamber said that spectators standing on top of embankments to be created as viewing areas to watch the games “will be looking straight into my bedroom”.
However, County Hall planning officer Jonathan Haine said that, like the practice nets, the pitches would be sunk around one-and-a-half metres below the present ground level.
“The top of the banking won’t be much higher than the current ground level, so in terms of overlooking…it’s not like people will be in an elevated location looking down on the properties nearby.”
He added that additional landscaping features were being considered to further protect the privacy of residents and that these could be secured by the general landscaping condition that was part of the planning permission.
IS IT REALLY CRICKET TO BUILD ON THE GREENBELT?
As the owner of the land and proposer of the plans, the county council was put in the position – by national planning rules – of having both to go into bat for the scheme and then seeing an independent cross-party committee of its own councillors sit in judgement on it.
However, there was even disagreement within the authority itself over whether the development should see the light of day in its current form, with the authority’s landscape officer suggesting that it be hit for six. They argued that “the existing open character” of the site – which serves as a buffer between the urban areas of Leyland and Bamber Bridge – would be harmed by features including the pavilion building, acoustic fencing, access roads and car parking.
The officer also branded the landscape and visual impact assessment accompanying the application “deficient in a number of respects” – for failing to consider properly the views from some surrounding footpaths and also incorrectly scoring the landscape impacts of the development.
However, in recommending that councillors give the green light to the proposal, County Hall’s planning officials concluded that the “very special circumstances” needed to permit what would otherwise be considered inappropriate development in the greenbelt had been demonstrated.
A planning officer report noted that the proposal offered “the opportunity to create a major new sport and recreation facility that would be of regional significance, as well as providing a sporting facility to address local shortfalls in the quantity and quality of provision”.
The document added: “The facilities to be offered would improve access to high standard sports provision and would therefore help to meet policy ambitions to improve health and levels of activity for all sections of society.
“The application site is centrally located and has good access to public transport and the strategic highway network. This site therefore has significant advantages over other locations that could potentially accommodate the development.
“It is considered that these benefits are considerable and outweigh the harm to the greenbelt and any other harm that would be caused by the proposal.”
‘GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR NATURE’
A county councillor said that he could only support the cricket ground plans if two trees deemed to stand in the way of site preparation work were protected and incorporated into the scheme.
Development control committee member Steve Holgate bemoaned a bid to remove the pair from a list of five trees that were to be fenced off and guarded during construction of the sporting facility.
The meeting at which the application was decided was told that their retention “would cause significant issues” for the development of one of the pitches.
However, County Cllr Holgate said that trees had been made into “a feature” of some other cricket grounds – and that the same should happen in Farington.
“I think it’s eminently achievable if one puts one’s mind to it…and given that we are taking the unprecedented view that the cricket ground is an acceptable use of the greenbelt, I think the extra mile needs to be run in terms of biodiversity and retaining these two magnificent trees,” said Cllr Holgate, who was supported by a majority of committee members in getting a condition added to that effect.
He also said that there should be a net gain in biodiversity on the site as part of the development. From November this year, an equivalent 10 percent gain will be required under planning rules.
The meeting heard that landscaping plans – and a proposed lagoon – for the Farington plot should ensure that that ambition was easily met in spite of it not yet being a requirement.