Project Overview
Acting on behalf of Clinton Devon Estates and the Environment Agency, Bell Cornwell has recently helped secure planning permission for a new cricket ground on the edge of Budleigh Salterton in Devon. Bell Cornwell worked up the proposals with specialist sport designers, Club Design and others. As part of the process, we undertook discussions with the committee and members of Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club (BSCC), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and other local stakeholders. BSCC will manage the new facility once completed.
The driver for the scheme is the need to find new premises for BSCC’s existing ground, which is located on land that is becoming unviable as a result of increased flooding. The project also forms a key part of the Lower Otter Restoration Project, a groundbreaking scheme which is being progressed by the Environment Agency and the landowner Clinton Devon Estates, which will see the restoration of a large area of the Lower Otter valley back into the natural flood plain. As part of the project, various features including the existing cricket ground need to be removed or relocated.
The new cricket ground will provide substantial improvements over the existing facilities and meet the requirements of both the ECB and Sport England. The new facilities include both adult and junior pitches and a new pavilion with changing facilities to allow league matches to be played by all sexes and ages.
The nature of the project – involving the relocation of a much-valued community facility – combined with its sensitive location within the East Devon AONB meant that considerable care had to be exercised in developing the proposals to meet the differing objectives of the club, wider community, sports authorities and the local planning authority. Funding for the construction of the new ground is dependent on the implementation of the broader restoration scheme.
