Call for cricket club safeguards

1:03pm Friday 11th July 2008

A CALL has been made for a cricket club to be given further protection during its relocation.

Westhoughton Cricket Club, which was built in 1937, is due to be demolished under a scheme to build a Sainsbury's supermarket in the town and it is to be relocated to a new site at The Hoskers in Daisy Hill.

But Cllr David Chadwick, who represents Westhoughton South on Bolton Council, wants the council's planning department to ensure the club is playing at its new site before any building work starts on the new supermarket.

He said: "We need to ensure the cricket club, which has a long and distinguished history in the town and the league, is here for many years to come. I do not want the club to be in the situation that it is unable to play because the pitch is not up to standard.

"The new ground is very rough and has drainage problems. I imagine the top surface will have to be taken off and relayed. I can't see it being ready in less than two years."

Cllr Sean Hornby, the chairman of Bolton Council's Planning and Highways Committee, said the council was committed to ensuring that proper planning procedures would be upheld.

He said: "A condition will be attached to the supermarket planning permission which will state that no development shall be commenced on the site at Cricketers Way until the local planning authority has approved, in writing, a specific scheme and programme of delivery for the alternative provision of facilities at The Hoskers.

"The scheme and programme must include detailed specification of the facilities and delivery timescales, and set standards to be used in the assessment of the new pitches.

"It will be the subject of consultation with the director of environmental services and Sport England," added Cllr Hornby.