Evenwood Cricket Club say they won’t be able to develop the ground and the club any further without the security system. Players fear the club, which has about 80 members and a vibrant junior section, will fall victim to vandals and could end up folding.
The club has been targeted by yobs in the past who have trashed equipment, while thieves have stolen cutters and strimmers.
The parish council manages the cricket field at the Welfare Ground and says it is not yet in a position to decide whether CCTV is appropriate for the area.
Cricketers have secured a grant to buy the cameras but have until the end of the month to get permission from the council – otherwise the money will go to another community group.
The cricket team has been at loggerheads with the parish council previously over the rent of the building along with other issues.
Groundsman and player Luke Banninster said: “If they’re umming and ahhing about some cameras, are we ever going to improve facilities? We can’t go on like this. We just can’t move forward.
“We’ve just got new covers for the pitch and new nets – just those two alone cost £6,200. It’s an isolated field. If it’s vandalised or our cutters are stolen again, we have no money available.
“I’m speechless about the whole thing. The village is in danger of just having an empty field. Evenwood has already lost its Northern League football team. Is it going to lose its cricket team as well?”
Even the possibility of trying to find a new site elsewhere has been mooted, Mr Bannister said.
He said other clubs such as Barnard Castle Cricket Club, which recently opened a £300,000 clubhouse, were thriving because they get the chance to grow. Mr Bannister said Evenwood had a good team but had to make do with basic facilities. The cricket club’s CCTV request was discussed by Evenwood Parish Council last week.
Parish clerk Martin Clark said the council did not have a CCTV policy, while other councillors raised possible issues with the electricity supply, maintenance costs and increased insurance premiums. Mr Clark said: “We have not got a policy for cameras but we would need to have one because it’s a public space. The responsibility ultimately falls with the parish council, not a user group, which means we would have to monitor it.”
Cllr Mary Prince said the CCTV system would be welcome but said any concerns had to be addressed first.
However, Cllr Paul Townsend warned: “If you don’t work with them, you will lose them. We can’t afford to lose a cricket club because the village does not have much. It’s hugely successful but they will leave.”
Cllr Anne Lyons replied: “We are not trying to be awkward but if we bend the rules, we get in trouble.”
Mr Clark added: “That building does not belong to them. It is not theirs. We have been trying to work with them to make them understand that for so many years. They rent the building but behave like they own it. They have put signs up to say ‘Evenwood Cricket Club’ but they should not do that. I have been on the sharp end and I’m not going to repeat what they have said to me.”
Evenwood Cricket Club say the CCTV system would also benefit the community by protecting the whole of the Welfare Ground. But councillors asked whether the parish council would have to undergo training to monitor the CCTV coverage because of sensitive issues such as footage of children and data protection. Cllr Mike English said: “There is a lot of ambiguity. Until we know the answers, we can’t make a decision. We might be getting a noose around the neck of the council.”
Parish councillors said they needed to see the cricket club’s funding application to get more information. A special meeting will be called to discuss the issue.
A decision would be made before the funding deadline cut off, councillors promised.
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