The County Cricket Ground in Ashley Down, Bristol was established in 1889. It was bought by W G Grace and it’s where Gloucestershire Cricket Club play to this day. In recent years, the ground has been redeveloped and will eventually have a capacity of 17,500, enabling the club to host international matches including the 2019 world cup. At last, this great club has a promising future, or has it?
In April, the local council gave permission to the club to erect six floodlights which are essential to the development and they should be in place by the beginning of the 2016 season. But now the scheme could be in doubt because the council has received a solicitors’ letter concerning a possible judicial review against the planning decision. We do not yet know the identity of the potential applicant, but I suspect you would need to be somewhat “green” around the gills not to have the slightest clue. As Bristol Rovers know to their cost, there is one group in this city with history in this sort of thing.
Now I suspect there are not all that many residents near the County Ground who were there before the ground was established. If they are, they would be well into their 120s and I doubt that the essential redevelopment of such a vital part of Bristol sport was a hugh priority in their lives. In other words, every single person who lives near the cricket ground was aware there was a cricket ground when they bought their houses. They did not need to buy a house in what is a desirable area if they did not want to live near a cricket ground They could all have lived somewhere else. W G Grace was there first, chaps. Get over it. If you bought a house next to the M32, you would get laughed out of court if you started to complain about the traffic, if you bought a house at the end of the runway at Bristol Airport would you really be shocked if aircraft started landing and taking off? Please!
I can see the logic for these lengthy planning wrangles because there must always be safeguards for all parties, but with the cricket club? Come on! The lights will be in use for 15 days a year, so normally they will not be used for the remaining 350. Doubtless the complainants will complain about the “eyesore” spoiling their view. Well, for all the reasons I have given: tough. Like any other sport, things change. In order to ensure cricket followers are able to get value for money, clubs want to install lights so games don’t have to stop every five minutes when a cloud comes over. And whilst a floodlit game might not quite be so gentile as a village game, it is normally very civilised. You rarely get riots in the streets after the game. Seeing cricket ‘live’ gets young people interested, young people who might otherwise be carrying out less socially acceptable activities. Is that what these NIMBYs really want? I am not sure they really care.
At long last, Bristol is beginning to shed its big village mentality with the development of Ashton Gate for Bristol City and Bristol rugby, the proposed UWE stadium for the Rovers and, away from sport, the building of the long-awaited arena. We also have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring big cricket to our city too.
Whoever is behind this legal challenge should make themselves known to the public and say openly and clearly what their issues are. Moreover, they should be asked what their alternative to this excellent plan would be and how it would be funded. In short, if they are trying to stop a much-needed and valuable scheme for our city they should have the courage of their convictions and debate with those who stand for progress, not hide behind legal letters.
And we need firm leadership from Mayor Ferguson to ensure this scheme succeeds. No prevaricating, no looking at things from all sides (the council officials have already done that), no more arsing about. Build those floodlights and give this city the international cricket it needs and deserves.
