Bourton Vale Cricket Club are delighted to announce that the funding bid and interest free loan from the English Cricket Board has been approved for the building of a new cricket pavilion.

Kevin Langley, club chairman, who has been a key driver of this initiative said: “The current pavilion, although beautiful, has been there for 90 years and would not have lasted another year.”

Langley added: “Unconditional planning permission has already been obtained which will retain the aesthetics of the current design and the traditional look which sits so well in our lovely ground.

“The new building will be in the same location as the existing one but it will be slightly larger in order to accommodate an interior layout which has been designed to both comply with ECB standards and to facilitate wider use from other sports clubs, especially in the winter, and to allow the club to maximise revenue.”

This news is fantastic for the thriving membership of the club, which includes a men’s 1st and 2nd XI, ladies’ team and a flourishing youth section with ‘All Stars’ U7, U9, U11, U13, U15 and a girls’ U13 team, from which many county and district players have been developed over the years.

Additional funds have also been secured from the Children’s Activity Fund, backed by local councillor Paul Hodgkinson. This £1,000 will be focused on the kitchen area of the club to ensure that matches played will be able to provide teas and refreshments for the teams.

Bourton Vale Cricket Club view themselves as a true local community club with Friday nights being the hub of the youth training where you will see the parents as well as U13 and U15 players volunteering their time to help the youngsters come on. Parents and siblings also attend these sessions to enjoy the social side of the club with the bar and barbecue.

Lucy Gillespie, who heads up the highly successful youth section of the club, said: “After a brilliant season so far for our thriving juniors, this news is the cherry on top – our loyal juniors and parents will finally have a clubhouse to be proud of.”

The new clubhouse will also be able to provide a base for clubs and events outside of the cricket fraternity, ensuring that the whole of the community will gain the benefits of this exciting new project.

The club has already raised about £18,000 just this season towards the project and further community fundraising is taking place with raffles and various fundraising events. Further funding bids are also in the pipeline. All of these funds raised are essential to supplement the building work and kit out the clubhouse.

Building work is due to start in autumn with an aim for it to be completed for the 2018 season.