Lindow Cricket Club has been awarded £4000 by Cheshire East Council in the latest round of Community Grants for Voluntary and Community Organisations.
The money will go towards providing a three lane outdoor cricket net facility with artificial-turf. This £50,000 project will reduce the amount of cricket sessions being cancelled due to adverse weather and the club intends to make the facility available for other community activities.
Adam Bull, Lindow CC Club Secretary, explained "We have a thriving junior section at Lindow, but its growth and development is currently limited by our training facilities. In 2014 the juniors lost a lot of youth development time with our ECB qualified coaches because adverse weather meant training had to be cancelled for fear of damaging the turf. The three lane artificial-turf net facility will allow us to increase the number of practice sessions and to offer more focused development time for our members. We are very excited about the project, which will also be of great benefit to the wider community and we will encourage local schools and clubs to make use of the facility."
Adam added "We will require significant funding from Sport England to ensure that the project can go ahead, but with money already secured from club fundraising and Cheshire East Council, we believe we have a compelling case. We are very thankful to the local community, including parents, local schools, Wilmslow Sports Football Club, Cheshire East Council and St John's church, who have all recognised the potential benefit to the local area and are supporting our application. The project also provides local businesses with an additional sponsorship opportunity at the club and we would urge any that are interested to get in touch."
Lindow Cricket Club should receive the outcome of their Sport England application in the New Year, with the intention that the new nets will be ready for Spring 2015 and in advance of the new cricket season.
Grants approved In the third round for 2014/15 totalled £69,901. Other local groups and organisations to benefit include Friends of Handforth Station who have been awarded £1000. They require the funding to convert old cycle lockers into illuminated profiles of soldiers heading off to war, as a commemoration of World War 1.
The group are contributing to the £4,400 project themselves and have a contributions from Handforth Parish Council, Contour Housing, Peaks & Plains Housing, Association of Community Rail Partnerships and Crewe-Manchester Community Rail Partnership.
Alderley & Wilmslow Musical Theatre Company were awarded £750 to go towards the costs of costumes, printing and advertising for their forthcoming production The Sound of Music and the Lions Youth Brass were awarded £500 to record and produce a CD which will be used to increase awareness of the band and to raise money through sales. The funding was required to go towards a guest conductor and the actual production of the CD.
