Helperby: Trust behind play area plan must assess football strike risk

Helperby residents are working to create a play area for children

Children using a proposed play area next to a cricket club in North Yorkshire would be safe from flying cricket balls, Sport England has said.

However, the trust behind the planned park in Helperby must show footballs from a nearby pitch also pose no risk.

Sport England said it could not lift its objection to the plan until the risk was properly assessed.

A development in Bradford was quashed after the risk of "ball strike" was not addressed.

The analysis of risks from nearby sports facilities follows a decade of fundraising towards the facility in the village, between Easingwold and Boroughbridge.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Helperby Brafferton Recreational Trust and landowners had agreed a sheep grazing field was the best available place for the new play area.

A planning application submitted to North Yorkshire Council states a survey of villagers had found 95% of residents were in favour of a new space to incorporate more facilities for children in the village.

"Whilst the local community have access to a very small play facility at the village hall, this caters for children up to the age of seven only," it states.

"In contrast, the proposed play area would cater for children up to the age of 14."

Numerous residents from the village have written to the council to support the proposal, describing the play area as a "fantastic addition".

There are more than 100 children in the village, which has a total population of about 800.

Sport England's objection follows planning permission for a development, beside Crossflatts Cricket Club in Bradford, being quashed by the High Court in 2021 because the risks of ball strikes had not been addressed.