The Cricket Ground is also known as 'Hanham's Field' and is the home of the Wimborne Cricket Club; has Cricket been played there for very long?

ANSWER.. There is a record of the Wimborne Cricket Club playing a match against Ringwood in 1787. It is believed that the Club played on Pamphill Green from 1850 to 1854 and also on a pitch on the Kingston Lacey estate. It moved to Hanham's Field around 1860.

Has the Cricket Ground been sold?

No -the Cricket Ground is owned by the Deans Court Estate, which is the Trust of Sir Michael and Lady Hanham. One of the Trustees has advised that Waitrose has bought an Option which gives the Company the right to purchase the site should it achieve Planning Permission for its supermarket. What was not revealed is the duration of this Option, such arrangements are normally for 3 or 5 years after which they lapse.

Why has the Wimborne Cricket Club not maintained its buildings?

The Club's explanation is that, for a number of years, it has been granted only short term leases by The Deans Court Estate hence there was no point in raising money to spend on its buildings. This indicates that the Estate has had the sale of the site in mind for some time. The white Pavilion, which was built in 1913, remains in reasonable condition.

But doesn't the Cricket Club want to move to a new site?

Waitrose has undertaken to provide a new Cricket Ground of 'minor Counties' standard on The Leaze Between the Model Village and the River Stour on an area of the flood plain. The President of the Cricket Club has been quoted many times as saying that the Club welcomes this but it is understood that many members are unhappy at having to move from the Club's historic site.

But isn't the Cricket Ground protected?

Yes - the site is within the Wimborne Conservation Area which has been created by the East Dorset District Council in order to protect the character and appearance of the town. It is also designated as an 'open space for recreation' in the East Dorset Local Area Plan of January 2002

New development within a Conservation Area is not banned but the Local Planning Authority will take particular care to ensure that it fits in satisfactorily with the established character and appearance of the Conservation Area. This is an extract from the EDDC's Planning Policy in Conservation Areas:
' Positioning, massing, design and choice of materials are of particular importance, as well as the visual impact of 'building over' an area of hitherto open land. The special character of these Areas stem not only from the age, disposition and architectural interest of the buildings, but also from the treatment of the spaces in between.
The presence of gardens, paddocks, soft verges, hedges and old boundary walls contribute greatly to the individual sense of place. Applications for new development must demonstrate that the proposal will harmonise with the Conservation Area
i.e. that it will preserve or enhance its character.'

'Local Plans' can, of course, be amended but, interestingly, Poole Councillors have just refused an application by Lidl to open a supermarket in Hamworthy because, whilst it was accepted that a new foodstore would be beneficial to the community, it was turned down because such a development would not be in line with the Local Plan.

We are advised that a Planning Application to build houses would be far less likely to succeed because houses would not justify the loss of Conservation Area.

The aim has to be to persuade the Deans Court Estate that the Cricket Ground has no 'development value' because of its status. In such circumstances, it would be reasonable for the Cricket Club to be allowed a lease of a reasonable duration, as it used to have. Or the Town could buy the site, which it has tried to do twice in the past, after which it could become an amenity for all, including Cricketers. KWTG would be pleased to help with a campaign to raise money for this purpose.

Three quarters of the area of the Cricket Ground is 'flood plain'; it has on many occasions of heavy rain acted as a 'sump' holding a great quantity of rainwater until it drains away. This function would, of course, be compromised by development and presents a significant problem for the developer. The Environment Agency will require a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and has imposed stringent conditions. These are extracts from its letter to the Waitrose Architects:
'The FRA must demonstrate that the proposal is not at risk of flooding and will not increase flooding elsewhere.''There must be no net loss of flood plain storage as a result of the proposal'

The River Allen which runs beside the site is one of the finest Chalk Streams in the country and it is one of the few remaining habitats of the native English Crayfish. There must be no risk whatsoever of oil and petrol polluted water from the car park surfaces finding its way into this river. Wimborne is situated in a river corridor hence in order for it to make an assessment of the potential ecological impacts of the development, the Environment Agency will require an Environmental Impact Assessment.

This is much argued about. There is evidence from all over the country that 'collateral shopping' by supermarket customers who have driven into the town to do their supermarket shop simply does not happen. And the Waitrose car-park would be 'pay and display' and run by the EDDC. Suffice to comment that Politicians from all parties, including our own MP, are supporting the Private Member's 'Sustainable Communities Bill' which seeks to stop the big retail chains creating 'Clone Towns' with their large stores. Those backing the Bill have a common concern about what appears to be remorseless community decline and what that means for the quality of life.

Despite the unique nature of the John Lewis Partnership business, most of the money spent in the supermarket would be lost to the local economy rather than circulating within it, as it does with local businesses. As for the Uniform Business Rate, this is collected and handed to central Government; it is then redistributed to Councils in line with a population-based formula so there is no benefit for Wimborne from this source.

Appalling! Up to 2000 vehicles a day, most of which would have to transit the narrow streets of the town's one-way system either coming to the store or leaving it.

It depends upon the sort of town you want to live in - either a run of the mill, wholly built up, all of the usual national shops, suburb which is largely indistinguishable from so many others or - a vibrant country town with a unique ambiance, its own mix of local shops, particularly food shops, that attracts visitors as it does today. And remains one of the most desirable places in the country in which to live, as it was judged to be by a magazine survey of a couple of years ago.