Northants confirm proposed new Moulton centre will NOT replace County Ground

Northants have announced that the West Northamptonshire Council has agreed to lease land to the club for a new state-of-the-art cricketing facility on the edge of Moulton.

The draft plans for the scheme include two full-size cricket pitches, one senior and one junior, that would share a central pavilion.

There would also be an outdoor practice square as well as a six-lane indoor training area, with some seating sections, believed to have a capacity of around 2,000, around the senior cricket pitch.

There is also room for temporary stands to be erected, but only with approval from the council.

The announcement has led to inevitable concerns the club could be contemplating moving away from their home of 138 years, but it has been made clear that no such plan is in the pipeline, and that Wantage Road will remain the club's 'primary venue' even if the new centre comes to fruition.

Instead the new site would 'operate alongside the County Ground', and provide extra room and facilities for the club to expand the 'rapid growth' of its junior pathway programme as well as girls, women's and disabled cricket.

A club statement on the announcement reads: "The new venue would become a home for the development of women’s and girls’ cricket of all formats, including softball festivals, junior leagues and provide a consistent venue for pathway cricket.

"There are no plans to move the professional men’s setup or club offices away from The County Ground, a venue Northamptonshire County Cricket Club has been proud to call home since 1886."

The County Ground has been transformed since the Cobblers left the site for Sixfields in 1994, and after extensive improvements and development it is now widely recognised as one of the best non-Test cricket grounds in the country.

But space for any extra expansion is limited, and referring of the plans for Moulton, Northants chief executive Ray Payne said: “This is an exciting milestone in a project that we’ve been working on for some time.

“There’s so much growth happening for cricket in the county, particularly in the women’s game and disability cricket, and over the last few years this demand has significantly increased pressure on our existing facilities.

“We cannot play any more games at the County Ground than we do currently, so it makes sense for us to investigate the idea of an additional venue, which the site at Moulton offers.

“We’re confident that a new facility will add enormous value to women and girls’ cricket in Northamptonshire and have a transformational impact on the volume and quality of cricket played in the county.

“We’re looking forward to consulting with residents and working closely with other partners to develop a proposal that connects local communities through cricket.”

The new centre would set out to meet all England & Wales Cricket Board and Sport England guidance and standards, and Northants chairman Gavin Warren added: "We’re proud that prudent governance and commercial growth of the club have helped us to achieve an enviable level of financial security.

“Now we need to ensure that we invest in our facilities so we can increase opportunities for everyone to play and expand the club’s reach into communities across Northamptonshire and surrounding counties.”

The club says it 'will now look ahead to the next stage of the project in consulting with residents around the further progress of proposals which will be tested through the planning process and local licensing regimes'.

The new site is pencilled in for the New Manor Farm site, which is situated between the west of the village and Boughton Lane.