Cricket club pulls up stumps after 117 years as neighbours protest about sixes being hit into their gardens
A HISTORIC cricket club has banned adults from playing after neighbours complained about balls landing in their property.
The Colehill Cricket Club near Wimborne, Dorset, was established in 1905 and the pitch has been in use ever since.
The picturesque ground has been a hub for the rural community, with generations of local families playing there for decades.
But when a homebuyer moved into a large detached house next to the pitch, she began to complain about batsmen hitting sixes into her garden, the club’s captain said.
Locals said that to appease the unnamed ‘newbie’, the club’s committee ‘ went mad’ with health and safety measures and began imposing draconian new measures.
The club initially said that any player who hit a ball towards her side of the boundary would be immediately disqualified from the game. When cricketers responded by boycotting the club, they instead planned on building a £15,000, 26ft high by 157ft long netted fence to protect the complainant’s home.
However, after deciding that was too expensive, the committee instead informed club captain George Taylor that the grounds will be closed for adult cricket for good.
Youth cricket can continue on the ground on the basis that boys and girls can’t hit as far as an adult. It is thought that at least two neighbours had complained about balls landing on their property which has ultimately led to cricket being stopped at the club.
The owner of a £1.5million house to the east of the ground confirmed that she had complained. The woman, who bought the detached house in 2014, said she had no further com
‘How very selfish of the complainant’
ment. Another neighbour who lives on the opposite side of the ground said her roof was damaged by a ball about six months ago.
The pensioner, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I have lived here for 30 years and never had an issue until recently. A ball damaged my roof which the club said they would pay for but I didn’t hear anything.’
The decision to stop matches has caused outrage among many residents and a petition started by Mr Taylor has already garnered almost 10,000 signatures.
The 26-year-old, who has played cricket at the club for 14 years, argues that the sport is being destroyed by a ‘not in my back garden’ mentality. Mr Taylor, an accountant, said: ‘When the land was gifted to the club, there was a covenant stating cricket had to be played there. Two years ago a neighbour started complaining.
She has put pressure on the committee. We’ve tried several things – initially we started playing away from her part of the field.
‘That just broadened the risk to other neighbours. The year after it was proposed not the hit the ball to one side of the boundary. Batters who did would be out.
‘We didn’t play there last year because we were hugely unhappy with that rule. Then the committee applied for planning permission to build a big fence. It just wasn’t practical. When they decided to suspend adult cricket, there was no forum or debate – they didn’t give any of us members notice. Some of the players texted me saying, “Please don’t tell me this is the end”. That put a bit of fire in my belly. I was expecting 20 signatures but we’ve got 10,000.’
Local resident Stephanie Roberts said: ‘How very selfish of the complainant to think they have the right to dictate to this wonderful community facility. Perhaps they should move elsewhere.’
Gemma Elliott said: ‘The cricket pitch has been part of Colehill for as long as I can remember. There’s always someone trying to change something to their needs.’
Another Wimborne resident said: ‘It is outrageous a newbie can choose to move next door to a cricket club and get cricket stopped.’ A spokesman for the committee of the Colehill Sports & Social Club said they had made the decision to ban adult cricket ‘with a heavy heart’.
The committee said: ‘ A ground of our size relies on having understanding neighbours … who want to embrace living next to a cricket ground. We have many neighbours who do, but we are also encountering those who want to adopt a “compensation culture”.
‘Our insurance premiums have more than trebled. We don’t believe it is viable to continue with adult cricket and face constant complaints and claims from those who choose not to embrace us.’