£5,000 awarded to help Thornham Cricket Club recover from storm damage

Thornham Cricket Club (photo from an event at the club in June 2018)

Thornham Cricket Club, in Slattocks, has been awarded £5,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Community Asset Fund for emergency works.

The funding will be used to repair the cricket square, outfield and boundary which were all badly damaged as a result of Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis.

The recent storms and floods devastated homes, businesses and infrastructure across the country and had a major impact on sports facilities, particularly sports pitches and water sports centres.

In February, Sport England announced emergency funding for flood and storm damage to help clean up and repair sports facilities and get them back up and running.

The grant will allow Thornham Cricket Club, which has been part of the community for over 150 years, to repair and renovate a significant area of subsidence on the boundary edge, caused by flood waters. The club’s perimeter fencing will be repaired, while impurities deposited on the pitch’s square and outfield will be treated to restore the quality of the grass covering. 

Andrew Micklethwaite, Thornham Chairman, said: “As a club, we’re committed to ensuring our facilities are of the highest possible quality all year round, so we can welcome players from around the region for league and cup matches but also so we can provide a safe space for social functions.

“However, we can only do so much to protect ourselves from the elements. Storms Ciara and Dennis brought unpredictable destruction with them, and our club was impacted by that. This generous donation from Sport England and the National Lottery Fund will allow us to repair the damage caused to our pitch, ensuring that when amateur cricket resumes later in the year, the community can once more benefit from our fantastic facilities.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said: “When flooding happens, the priority must be making sure people are safe, that they can get back into their homes and vital public services are back up and running. But we know from the floods in 2013 and 2015 that flood water can cause significant damage to sports pitches and pavilions, changing and social facilities.

“We’re making emergency funding available now so when the time is right sports organisations can pay for rebuilds and repairs quickly.

“We are delighted to be able to get this emergency funding to Thornham Cricket Club to help it get back up and running as soon as possible.”