OFFICIALS at a dale cricket club have launched an online appeal to help raise thousands of pounds towards a major upgrade of facilities.
Raby Castle CC, which plays in the grounds of the castle, at Staindrop, hopes to raise £12,500 to cover the cost of installing an electricity supply at the pavilion.
The appeal is part of a larger £200,000 scheme to extend and modernise the outdated 43-year-old timber pavilion, build a new storage shed for ground equipment and install new net facilities.
The upgrade hinges on the success of a number of funding bids as well as the appeal.
Club secretary Steve Caygill said it was hoped £50,000 would come from Teesdale Action Partnership and the neighbourhood budgets of the dale’s county councillors, with another £10,000 from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Durham County Cricket Club.
Raby Castle CC is putting in £30,000 in addition to the £8-10,000 it has already spent on surveys, feasibility studies and other fees.
The club is also hopeful of £85,000 from section 106 cash – money for community facilities raised from the new housing projects along Darlington Road, in Barnard Castle, and administered by Durham County Council.
Mr Caygill said: “We had the whole project costed and it shocked a lot of people as to how much it was going to be.
“There are three elements to the project – a three-metre extension to the pavilion, an equipment shed and new outdoor nets.”
He explained that even if all the funding bids were successful, it left the club £12,500 short.
“We were at breaking point, so we got our thinking caps on and came up with the Crowdfunder.”
Whether the whole project progresses is now out of the club’s hands.
“The long and the short of it is we are waiting to hear about the section 106 money, but if we raise the money for the electricity supply, that would be something tangible,” said Mr Caygill.
He said the improvements couldn’t come quick enough for Raby Castle CC, which is one of only two clubs in the Darlington and District League to run a junior section in addition to two senior teams.
“We have invested heavily in the provision of junior cricket at the club, including the training of our volunteer coaches, but now we desperately need to improve the clubs’ facilities for players, officials, and spectators,” said Mr Caygill.
“We are proud to have more than 100 youngsters participating in our weekly cricket programmes, with girls making up 25 per cent of our membership and we also welcome children with disabilities.
“We field teams at under 9, under 11, under 13 and under 15. Our ECB qualified coaches and support workers run indoor training and coaching sessions throughout the winter months.
“We are told by the estate that we are an integral part of the Raby Castle visitor experience, and we feel we play an important role in a rural area that doesn’t offer children a lot in the way of social and sporting activities.”
As the Mercury went to press, £8,370 had been pledged to the Crowdfunder appeal. Anyone wishing to support Raby Castle CC can do so at www.crowdfunder.co. uk/p/installing-an-electric ity-supply-at-raby-castle-cc, where full details are available.
