Belhus Cricket Club News Flash

Belhus Cricket Club is pleased to announce that it has received planning permission from Thurrock Council to erect permanent outdoor cricket nets at the North Stifford ground. Our plans were submitted earlier this year by Jim Robertson, who said: "'It's great news for the club and for this area of the borough. It is still early days in terms of the facility actually being put in place, but it is a big stepping stone towards this long term dream becoming a reality. These nets, if and when installed, should be the best in the area by far". The next stage is for funding to be secured. Jim continued: "We priced the job some eighteen months ago, and we were looking at the net structure and surfaces being in the region of £15,000 with the security fencing being another £6,000". The club is already earmarking certain external funding towards the project and additional funding partners will now be required to help make the much needed community facility into a reality. Belhus youth chairman Cliff Cansdale admitted: "With so few facilities available to hire locally, we are asking parents to take their children to places like Ilford and Chelmsford for coaching, or even to school halls outside the local area. To have such a facility in our own backyard will benefit not only the club as a whole, but equip individual players with the skills they need to compete adequately with well-coached players from outside the area. I am certain the benefits, especially in terms of the development of the large number of local children interested in cricket, will be enormous".