Hot on the heels of Exeposé‘s exclusive about possible demolition and construction plans at St. Luke’s campus, the Exeter Express and Echo is reporting that the traditional cricket pavilion, at the Devon County ground opposite campus, could be demolished to make way for “high quality student flats”.
According to the Express and Echo‘s website, long-serving Exeter Cricket Club chairman Bob Price thinks that the building plans should cause no “real controversy”, because the alternative to the “limited development” is that the ground’s pitch and open space would be lost for future generations of Exeter residents.
A family trust has allowed both Devon Cricket Club and Exeter Cricket Club to play at the ground, rent free, since 1902. However, next year this long term lease will finally run out, forcing Exeter Cricket Club in particular (the only amateur team in their division) to seek new forms of income.
Mr Price told the Express and Echo: “We sub-let the adjoining squash club and we will lose that income when the lease is up. How are we to replace that income?”
“We don’t pay any of our players. We want to play simply for the beauty of the game. We will retain the ground and we will have a sizeable amount of money to build a new club house next to the squash club”, he added.
It is not yet clear whether the student accommodation Mr Price is proposing would be approved by the university, or a private venture.
However, the plans came as a surprise to the Students’ Guild. Grace Hopper, VP for Welfare and Community, told Exeposé that “the new article from the Express and Echo was the first I’d heard of anything”. She added though that she would now be “investigating the alleged plans”.
There are already strong indications that the plans to knock down the pavilion might encounter considerable opposition. Councillor Percy Prose explained to the Express and Echo that “temporary listed protection status” had been used to save buildings in the past and he thought there was scope for a “Save Our Pavilion” campaign.
A council spokesman has also stated that there are “no current planning applications” and that any such applications would be subject to both “legal tests” and the new St. James Neighbourhood Plan. The Western Morning News website suggests that the Neighbourhood Plan may give residents a say in the future landscape of the cricket ground.
Many students would welcome a say in the future of the pavilion, as it is used to host Athletics Union events. Men’s hockey captain Sam Plater told Exeposé that the building was used to host his society’s match teas. He went on to condemn the possible plans: “it would be a travesty to demolish such a beautiful, traditional pavilion that makes the Cricket Ground what it is: a quintessential Cricket Pitch”.
Confusion reigns over the exact purpose of the potential planned flats and their benefits to students. Mr Price told the Express and Echo that the flats would accommodate students close to campus, so that they are not “taking up houses in the city”. Does this mean that they are not intended for first year students, who would usually live in university accommodation, either on campus or nearby?
Second-year History student Oscar Maddox questioned whether there would be a demand for flats on the edge of campus among second and third years. He said: “While it would be nice to live near campus, I would worry about how much it would cost. Also I think there are lots of benefits to living nearer town, so I’m not sure how many people would want to live there”.
Whether the development will even go ahead or not remains to be seen, and the future of cricket in Exeter is also uncertain.
Liam Trim, Online Editor
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