Cricket club to fence ground due to vandalism

The club's plans to erect a fence have met with a number of objections

A cricket club in Bradford has been given permission to erect a large fence around its ground after repeated incidents of vandalism.

The application for the 6ft 10in (2.1m) fence at Jer Lane Cricket Club, in Horton Bank Top, had attracted dozens of objections with some branding it an "eyesore".

Others said it was often used as a play area by young people and it was an important green space in an inner city area.

However, granting permission, planning officers said it was a private site and public access was in the gift of the club.

The application said the grounds were often damaged by bike riders, strewn with litter, including laughing gas cannisters, and contaminated with dog faeces.

The application first went before Bradford Council's Planning Panel in July, but the decision was adjourned to allow the club to come up with an alternative solution other than fencing off the grounds.

The plans were amended, and the proposed fencing will now be paladin, rather than palisade fencing, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Officers said the different style of fencing offered a "similar level of security" whilst having a "greater amount of intervisibility".

'Protect' facility

Members of the panel raised concerns about the loss of access to a green space.

However, planning officer Andrew Moxon said: "This is not a public open space – it is a private site and any access is up to the gift of the cricket club."

He said most of the public had been "respectful" but said the site had suffered from anti-social behaviour, which had that has "had an impact on the club's costs and insurance".

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland said: "It is sad that the behaviour of a few mean places like this have to be closed off to other people."

Chair of the committee Sinead Engel agreed and said: "We need to protect this facility. They shouldn't have to do this, but that's the state of play."

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