Shrewsbury Cricket Club will consult on relocation proposals

Chiefs at Shrewsbury Cricket Club today said consultation about a potential relocation out of the town will be as "open as possible".

Bosses at the London Road club are considering moving to a new site at Horton Lodge west of the A5 bypass after a seven-year period of "investigation" and "study".

They want to help the club, which last summer won the Birmingham Cricket League premier division title for the first time, to be able to expand in the future.

A visual and written presentation illustrating how the potential move may unfold will be put up in the clubhouse from around 2pm tomorrow.

It will mark the start of a five-week public consultation period.

Andy Barnard, club chairman, said they had been active in keeping local residents and members informed about the situation at the club.

He said: "The presentation is being put up to coincide with this weekend's game.

"We are encouraging people to filter in and out and take a look at the proposals. There will be committee members on hand to answer any questions.

"This has been a seven-year project and a lot of our neighbours and local councillors have known about the relocation proposals because it has come up at other AGM meetings.

"We also have a neighbourhood relationship officer on the committee and he helps to keep all the local residents informed.

"There will be five weeks of consultation and it will be as open as possible.

"We want to hear what people think and the findings will go back to the committee for further analysis."

Redevelopment of the London Road site has been rejected by club committee members because of "limited size" and "health and safety" issues.

It currently relies on hiring additional facilities from Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology, Condover Cricket Club as well as Belvidere and Shrewsbury Schools.

Mr Barnard said: "It is important to stress relocation is just a proposal at the moment.

"We expect to have some mixed views and some polarised views. All of the junior members were informed at a pre-season meeting and we are doing everything we can to keep the community informed.

"We now need people to fill out the questionnaires."

Questionnaires will be available from the club.

By Sam Pinnington