Cricket club future ‘in jeopardy’ if ownership opportunity is missed, claims former England bowler

A proposal has been submitted for Brixworth Local Services Centre, on the southern edge of the village just off Northampton Road.

Along with 16 affordable homes, a convenience store, a spa and wellbeing centre and a gym, the plans also include a Section 106 agreement – known as a ‘planning gain’ – should the scheme get the go-ahead.

This would see the freehold of Brixworth Cricket and Tennis Club transferred to a Brixworth Community Interest Company or similar, to take on full management and ownership.

It is an opportunity which would help to safeguard the cricket club’s future, says the club’s president, former England cricketer Devon Malcolm.

Devon, who has been involved in the club since the move to its current ground 17 years ago, says he cannot sit back and watch this opportunity be missed, and has pointed to the money raised by the club for the local area as an example of the impact the cricket club has had.

The former fast bowler, who has lived in the area for almost 30 years, said: “It would be remiss of me to sit back and see all the work that the community has put in drift away. It’s massively important to see the club continue.

“If we can’t secure a long-term lease, we can’t apply for funding from the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board). If we do own the ground, the world would be our oyster.”

In recent years, the club has raised £75,000 for the neo natal ward at Northampton General Hospital through a series of annual matches organised by Devon, which saw former international stars including Richie Richardson, Gordon Greenidge, Graeme Hick and Adam Hollioake, play against a Brixworth team.

In addition, in celebration of Devon’s 50th birthday, he organised a special event at Brixworth to raise money for Chance to Shine, a charity which aims to give all children the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket as part of a drive to get competitive cricket back into state schools. The event, which featured cricketing stars Mark Nicholas, Paul Nixon, Alex Tudor and Phil Tufnell, raised £50,000.

Devon said it demonstrates the effort that has gone into the club and how far it has come since the days when the site was an overgrown, nettle-filled field.

The cricket ground is now the envy of others involved in the sport, Devon said, and has even been used as a secondary training ground for the county cricket club. It is now such a popular club that officials have had to turn down new members. It also boasts the largest female section in the county.

Devon, who played 40 Test matches for England, said: “If you pop down to the ground on a Friday or Saturday, you’ll see the amount of young people from Brixworth and the surrounding area who use the facilities.

“From my point of view, what’s important is the wider contribution of the cricket club and getting young people involved in playing cricket. The long-term benefits of cricket are so valuable.

“We have tried to make the club more diverse and we are the envy of most clubs in terms of our facilities and what we have done.

“If we managed to take ownership of the cricket club, it would open up more funding opportunities for us.”

Brixworth Cricket and Tennis Club facilities are currently owned by a former Brixworth village GP, Dr Dallas Burston. He personally funded the building of the sporting facilities in the early 1990s. Since then, Dr Burston has only charged £1 a year in rent and has sponsored equipment and functions.

The grounds are worth around £500,000, an amount of money which Devon says the clubs just don’t have.

If Dr Burston’s plans for Brixworth Local Services Centre are approved, the village would own the grounds as part of a Section 106, which are agreements between a planning authority and a developer that ensure certain extra works related to a development are undertaken for the benefit of the local community.

A covenant will be included to prevent future residential or commercial use of the grounds or buildings.

The proposed Brixworth Local Services Centre would also deliver offices and a meeting hub, a restaurant and takeaway as well as a drive-thru coffee shop, along with more than 150 car parking spaces including dozens of electric charging points.

Residents in favour of the plans can sign the ‘Say Yes’ petition, which has already attracted more than 220 names. Add your name to the petition here: https://confirmsubscription.com/h/j/455F4708CF61C23F