2 weeks Ago By Stuart Arnold
Did you know with a Digital subscription to Yorkshire Post, you can get access to all of our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Marske Cricket Club, in Windy Hill Lane, was recently granted planning permission by Redcar and Cleveland Council for new six metre high perimeter nets. The ‘ball stop’ netting, which is attached in between steel posts, runs 75 metres in length along a section of boundary adjacent to Windy Hill Lane and 60m along an eastern boundary with Zetland Road.
Advertisement Advertisement Marske councillor Kendra Evans said one resident had a cricket ball smash through her living room window. Coun Evans said: “She lives opposite the edge of the ground, the distance is literally a pavement, a road, another pavement and then you are into her front garden. “She showed me a bucket full of balls which she’d collected over a few years and told me a number of other residents had sustained damage to roofs, windows and cars.
” She said meetings were held with the club to “get the ball rolling”, while another concern was the proximity of the ground to a bus route frequently used by local school children. Advertisement Advertisement Coun Evans said funding was eventually secured for the nets and the club had been “happy to co-operate where necessary”. She said: “To be fair to the club, every time a ball has caused damage they’ve made it good almost immediately, but I did explain they’d likely save money in the long run by getting the nets installed.
“It’s unlikely to fully stop the problem, but it will keep people safer and it’s much less likely we’ll see smashed windows in the future.” A planning officer’s report said the cricket club was within a predominantly residential area. Advertisement Advertisement It said the posts and netting were being installed behind an existing privet hedge around the boundary of the site.
The report said: “It is considered the 10cm wide posts and fine mesh netting will have a limited impact on the character and appearance of the area because the posts are narrow, and the netting will still allow for views through. “The netting will prevent cricket balls falling on pedestrians and vehicles.” A comment received by the council on the application said: “Myself and my husband are 100 per cent in support in the main for the safety aspect of our community and secondly to help the sustainability of the cricket club.
” The club said it did not want to comment when contacted..
