Cricket club sale

The revelation of detailed proposals comes just six months after the club quashed rumours that it was planning a move.

Cricket club chairman David Halliwell has exclusively revealed that a housing developer has already put in a seven-figure offer for the land.

At tonight's (Nov 29) meeting of Radcliffe Area Board, the club will put forward its plans to turn the disused running track at Cams Lane into a new community sporting centre for the town.

But Radcliffe Juniors Football Club will also try to persuade council bosses that they should be given the site.

Rumours that the cricket club was planning to move first began circulating in the summer, but at the time Mr Halliwell firmly denied them. It has since emerged that as far back as November last year, the club was looking to sell part of the Racecourse ground for housing.

Speaking this week Mr Halliwell said: "At the beginning we did try to keep it quiet because at the time we had not even mentioned it to club members. Since then we have had a vote and all but around half a dozen of our 450 members are in favour of the move. It will be tremendous for the club." Thanks to a £40,000 grant from the Sports Council the cricket club was able to purchase the Racecourse ground from Bury Council in 1995.

But the sale was conditional on Bury Council being permitted to buy back the land for exactly the same price if the club moved.

If planning permission was granted for houses to be built on the cricket ground, which is designated as protected recreational space, Bury Council would not be obliged to share any of the profit from the sale with the club. But the club itself is not obliged to move from the Racecourse in the first place.

Mr Halliwell said: "By co-operating with each other we could both benefit and this is precisely why we will be negotiating with the council."

The Cricket Club says that works estimated at £220,000 are required to the Racecourse ground to bring the pitch and other facilities up to modern-day standards. The club says there is little hope of being able to raise the money. In addition, it says its existing facilities are in decline and its ability to generate revenue to fund the increasing costs of maintenance is diminishing.

In a report to be presented at tonight's meeting, the club warns: "Without substantial investment the current facility at the Racecourse will never allow the necessary growth that the town's largest sporting club requires to survive."

As a solution it is proposing creating a "financially secure multi-sport club" at the Cams Lane site, although that is currently designated as Green Belt land.

The club says a project solely based on cricket would not be sustainable. By diversifying into other areas such as rounders, ladies cricket, tennis and crown green bowling and by building new state-of-the-art changing facilities to cater for men, women and the disabled it believes it will bring a wider cross-section of local people into the club.

It also claims that the new site would allow it to provide increased and improved coaching and could be used by around 3,500 children from eight local schools which at present have no cricket facilities. The club has stressed that it will continue to be run as a voluntary, non profit-making organisation.

Although the Cams Lane site is slightly smaller than the Racecourse's six acres, Mr Halliwell said the new base would be more compact, modern, manageable and space efficient, allowing the club to expand.

He added: "Radcliffe Cricket Club has been going since 1895 and we want it to be around for another century. The club would not fold if it remained at the Racecourse, but it would make it really difficult to grow or develop."

Councillor Barry Briggs, the chairman of Radcliffe Area Board, said that while the cricket club and Radcliffe Juniors Football Club will be able to present their reports at tonight's meeting at the Civic Suite, the matter is so complex that a special meeting will be held in a few weeks to specifically discuss the matter.

He said: "At this stage the views of the Area Board are only being sought as to the decision-making process that should be adopted in dealing with the two expressions of interest in the land."

Radcliffe Juniors Football Club is proposing to initially create two 11-a-side and two seven-a-side pitches on the Cams Lane site. In the longer term it wants to build a car park, club house and sports hall.

It is in discussion with organisations such as Sport England, the Football Foundation and Sports Development over funding. Sources of match funding are also being explored through discussion with potential investors.

The club, which runs ten teams, uses a variety of public and private pitches which are secured on an annual basis with no guarantee of automatic renewal. This is why it wants to establish a permanent base at Cams Lane.