​Caistor club looks to net cash for £45k project​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

In the last few years, membership of Caistor Town Cricket Club has grown and now they are looking to replace their practice facility to bring it up to cricket’s governing body (ECB) standards.

Club chairman Sean Woolley explained the project, which would cost in the region of £45,000, to town councillors last Thursday at their regular monthly meeting.

As landlords of the Brigg Road sports ground, which is home to the club, they need to give permission before any formal plans can be made.

Mr Woolley said: “We are going through this process at the moment having spent an awful lot of money in the past 12 months stripping the whole of the top of the outfield, which the ECB contributed to, making it a very good playing facility following the chafer bug problems.

"Our current practice facilities are not of the standard ECB would recommend. They are getting to the stage where they are going to become dangerous, sooner rather than later.

"With the concrete underneath and the joints rotting we need new fencing so actually, at this point, it is time to look at new facilities.

"We are looking at crowdfunding, with matched funding from the ECB to pay for it, but we need permission to be able to start that process, because if we don’t have town council permission as landlords, actually there is no point in us looking at raising £40,000; it is dead in the water before we go.”

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Full ECB standard practice net facilities would see the base be made of a crushed compound rather than concrete, which can be rolled and kept at a better standard, which Mr Woolley says would allow the 75 juniors, 35 women 40 senior men together with anyone else within the local community to go and use it safely.

On the recommendation of ECB, the nets would be moved to the top right hand corner of the field – at the Brigg Road end below the bowling green.

Coun Jackie Hughes questioned whether this would cause issues to spectators.

She said: “I believe people sit on that bank over the summer; then you won’t be able to see the match as it seems to take up a half or third of that bank. The original place is out of the way.”

Chairman, Coun John Wright said he believed the siting was due to recommendations from the ECB, as the nets need to be in a north/south orientation.

Coun Wright added: “ECB had a look at the site and said it has to be north south facing and so that is where it is proposed.

"They have to be to ECB standard otherwise it is putting future grants in jeopardy ."

Mr Woolley confirmed that the concrete would be dug out of the existing net area, once the new facility was in place, and that area would be returned to grass, giving spectators a banked area at that end of the ground.

He continued: “We would need to get through West Lindsey for planning permission due to the height of the nets, which will be a fraction higher.

"We would like to get them installed as soon as possible, but we need to raise the funding first.

"We are in the process of putting together a crowdfunding project, which should launch mid May and there will be charity events over the summer.”

In proposing the council give the go-ahead for the project, Coun Michael Galligan said: “For the good of Caistor and the overall enhancement of the town we should give them permission.”

Councillors voted in favour of permission being granted, with one abstention.

Coun Jon Wright added: “I agree we should go forward with this; we need to get the ball rolling.”