Chorleywood Cricket Club in Hertfordshire has secured a £75,000 grant from HS2 to build a new clubhouse and training facility. The two-storey building will house a community café, a commercial kitchen, changing facilities and a viewing terrace.
The funds secured from HS2 will be used to replace the current clubhouse, a temporary building originally installed on the site in the 1970s. Situated in an Area of Natural Beauty (AONB), the new facility will be finished with a timber façade to match the original building, complete with a natural slate roof.
The new cricket facilities will also be upgraded to bring the clubhouse up to Sport England and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) guidelines.
Cathy Elliott, Independent Chair of the HS2 Funds, said:
“Chorleywood Cricket Club has been an established part of Hertfordshire for nearly 200 years. By upgrading their current facilities, the club can continue to serve the local community for many years to come.”
“I’m pleased that HS2 can leave a positive legacy through supporting the continued growth of the club. I would encourage any organisation that can demonstrate that they have been impacted by the construction of HS2 to also apply for funding”.
The club has also partnered with Mission EmployAble, an organisation which works with young adults with learning disabilities to give them an opportunity to participate in work experience, encouraging them to take active roles in their local community.
The club plans to use the new community café and kitchen as a base for their internship programme, with space to train a cohort of around 20 young adults with moderate learning disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down's Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy.
The café will be open daily, offering home-made food for snacks, light lunches, and afternoon teas served overlooking the grounds.
Steve Dunning, Chair of Chorleywood Cricket Club, said:
“We would like to thank HS2’s Community and Environment Fund for their generous grant, which is being used to construct the new pavilion. HS2’s CEF contribution has helped ensure that the club will be able to provide cricket for generations to come and will enable our partners, Mission EmployAble, to provide training for young adults with learning disabilities. The combination of the cricket club and the café will allow the whole community to enjoy the pavilion all year round.“
Chorleywood Cricket Club received the grant through HS2’s Community & Environment Fund (CEF).
HS2, the company building the UK’s new high speed rail line, has already funded over 197 projects near their line of route between London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Local organisations including sports clubs, charities, youth programmes and local employability training schemes have already received over £11 million pounds of funding from the HS2 project.
HS2’s Community & Environment Fund (CEF) and Business & Local Economy Fund (BLEF), independently administered by community charity Groundwork UK, are still in open to applications: https://hs2funds.org.uk/home/community-environment-fund/.
