Cricket has been bringing the Stocksbridge and Deepcar community together for the past 157 years, embarrassingly with the current condition of our pavilion, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was actually built that many years ago.

Despite our ground and the view from it being some of the best, our pavilion is one of the worst there is. But regardless of how it looks it is just simply not fit for purpose. For example, we have:

No hot running water
No heating
No insulation
No damp proofing
No Showers
No separate changing for males/females
The electrics are appallingly outdated
Space is tight and cramped
The building is in such a bad state of repair, with its crumbling walls, leaky roof and damp in an abundance.

The walls themselves are only one brick thick and many are crumbling away.

You will be able to see from the images above just how bad the condition of the building is. Sadly we were told recently by a surveyor that it is beyond repair and needs rebuilding.

We need to raise the funds required to build a new pavilion or accept the fact that the community will not have a cricket team for many more years.

Our club consists of 2 Adults sides, 2 under 9s an under 11s and an under 13s side. In addition we host the English Cricket Board's 'All Stars' program, encouraging children as young as 5 to get active and try their hand at cricket, the numbers of which are growing year on year. We hope that the numbers will continue to grow, however, this will only happen with the correct facilities in place.

We do however use the word host lightly, as what we offer the players and supporters can barely be called hosting. The toilets can barely host more than a dozen visits without getting blocked. This is particularly problematic when our club hosts the Links school partnership programs, with up to 40 children attending, you cant really tell them to just cross their legs or hold it in!

Getting a new pavilion is not a nice to have its ABSOLUTEY CRITICAL to the clubs survival.

We need a functioning building that is safe, clean and modern for all to use. It would allow cricket to be enjoyed for many more years by players and supporters alike, as well as providing a fantastic venue that can be utilised by other clubs and schools in the area.

In brief our current draft plan is proposed to be on two floors with accessible, male and female changing facilities, ground floor accessible toilets, storage and a club room with kitchen/bar area. This will promote use amongst wider groups and be fit for purpose for all who attend. The pavilion will be utilised for social, fundraising and private hire events providing the club with future revenue sources. It will also provide a modern facility, in safe surroundings, for the entire local community to make use of.

Cricket has been played in the Stocksbridge area for at least 157 years. The erection of a new pavilion will ensure that proud history continues for generations to come. Without it, the future of cricket in the Stocksbridge area is more than a little uncertain.

Please give as much or as little as you can; every penny will help towards saving our club and the future of cricket in our community.

Thank you very much indeed.