And finally… knocked for six
Badly damaged by arson 14 years ago, Huddersfield’s oldest cricket club is being rebuilt in time for its 200 year anniversary in 2025.
Lascelles Hall Cricket Club’s new clubhouse will have two changing rooms, an umpire’s room, kitchen, bar,
lounge, and toilets.
Huddersfield-based residential property developer Vivly Living has donated the kitchen, and a £300,000 grant was awarded from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Paul Brown, managing director of Vivly Living, said: “The club is at the heart of Huddersfield’s cricketing and sporting community.
“The club has first and second teams, a ladies’ team, and junior teams in all age groups. They will all benefit
from a revitalised ground, with first-class facilities.
“The renaissance of this iconic cricket club is such a positive story. Although arsonists struck in 2010 and 2019, the club has fought back, raising enough money to ensure that it will be able to celebrate its 200th anniversary in style, boasting one of the finest club grounds in West Yorkshire.”
Richard Marshall, one of the main fundraisers for Lascelles Hall, commented: “The club has managed to raise enough funds to build the external shell of the new clubhouse.
“This is planned to be completed by the end of January 2025. It was our intention to use volunteers and member skillsets to complete the internal aspects of the clubhouse by April 2025, reaching out to local companies for support.
“We wrote to over 45 local companies receiving only a handful of replies, albeit extremely generous ones.
“One of those companies was Vivly Living, a local residential housebuilder in Huddersfield. Vivly were one of the first to write back and support our cause and have generously offered a brand-new Huddersfield-made Ellis kitchen for the new clubhouse.”
