Kennington Cricket Club receives grant award from the England and Wales Cricket Trust

The Kennington Cricket Club has been awarded a £40,000 grant and a £10,000 interest free loan from the England and Wales Cricket Trust (EWCT) towards the cost of a pavilion extension. The total project cost is approximately £145,000.

Support for the project was also given by the Sport England, Ashford Borough Council, Kent Sports Development Unit and the Kent County Council.

The EWCT’s grant aid programme aims to finance capital projects, including renovations to improve facilities which contribute to sustaining and increasing participation. Kennington Cricket Club was identified by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Kent Cricket Board as a club of strategic and developmental importance and because of the strength of their junior programme.

The Kennington Cricket Club’s Treasurer, John Cunningham, said: “In recent years the Club has made good progress and we have achieved ECB Clubmark status. We have two senior Saturday league sides and a friendly senior side plays on Sundays. We have a very strong junior section with 100 young cricketers – including girls - and as an extension of our structured coaching programme we also provide coaching and play opportunities in the local primary schools.”

“Because the Club has grown it was a priority for us to increase the size of our pavilion facilities and as a community club we wanted to make the new facility available not only for cricket but also for the benefit of local community groups such as Yoga, fitness and exercise groups, the ballet school etc. In fact, prior to the Official Opening on 4th Morning’ for local community groups to come and see the facilities and the potential we are able to offer.”

“The pavilion extension will increase the size of our social area and kitchen, there are new toilets and facilities for people with disabilities.”

“We have had wonderful fundraising support from our members and appreciation is also expressed to Frank Slegg who has given us his professional time as a Chartered Surveyor and he has acted as the Project Manager.”

“The project has been a team effort and we are especially grateful to the EWCT for their most generous support. We also express gratitude for the support from Councillor Philip Simms through the Ashford Borough Council (£10,000), Councillor Andrew Wickham on behalf of the Kent County Council (£5,000) the Kent Sports Development Unit (£8,000) and Sport England (£50000). We regard the grants as an investment in the cricket at the Club and the facility will provide long term benefit for the local community.”

EWCT Trustee, Brian Havill, said: “The England and Wales Cricket Trust is pleased to support projects that sustain high quality participation and enhance facilities. Kennington Cricket Club deserves support because of their junior development programme. Investing in worthy projects such as this one allows cricket clubs to make their facilities as accessible as possible to members, players and spectators. Having high quality cricket facilities accessible to the community will be key to sustaining participation in grass roots cricket over the coming years.”

ECB National Funding and Facilities Manager, Bruce Cruse, said: “The ECB is pleased to invest in this worthy project and to give a boost to grass roots facility development. It has been planned to put new impetus into the playing future of the local community and I am confident that as the investment matures cricket locally will go from strength to strength.”

For information about Grant Aid and Funding contact Mike Turner, MBE (ECB) on .