Streatham and Marlborough is a wonderful cricket club, set on the beautiful Dulwich Common, but its home is desperately in need of updating.
The current building is at the end of its serviceable life, and no longer provides an adequate, functioning home to a club that provides a diverse community in south London with cricket and a home.
Rough estimates from experts say that repairs to the current building – including but not limited to replacing pitched roofs, dealing with sub-floor damp, complete replacement of central heating and hot water systems, refurbishment of shower and changing room facilities, foundation work and gutter replacement – would cost the club more than £500,000.
And even then, they would merely be a sticking plaster that would need constant remedial work. In short, it is not feasible to undertake major repairs – and the solution is to build a new clubhouse.
The club has spent more than a decade working on a solution, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds in grants from the likes of Southwark Council (Active Southwark Olympic Legacy Grant), the London Marathon Charitable Trust and the ECB. With the help of favourable terms on cricket club-specific loans, the club’s own cash and a grassroots fundraising drive that is ongoing (please donate if you can), a pre-planning application has been submitted to set the ball rolling on the biggest project in this club’s 200-year history.
You can follow the project’s progress on the Streatham & Marlborough Cricket Club YouTube channel.
Donate now
We have a ring-fenced fund where you can make contributions by bank transfer at any point. No contribution is too small: every penny you give will go towards a new home for hundreds of men, women and children who love playing cricket at Streatham & Marlborough.
- Account name: Streatham & Marlborough Cricket Club Pavilion Fund
- Sort code: 20-80-57
- Account number: 00231770
Pavilion design
The new pavilion will incorporate new changing rooms and showers, officials’ facilities and disabled access in line with modern building standards as well as ECB and safeguarding requirements. This is the planned layout for the Phase 2-3 pavilion:This upgraded club room is expected to be glass-fronted, connecting better to the spectator area between the pitches and allowing views of both pitches. The facility will be open for other community groups to use and for community social event hirings. An additional phase of the project could see the changing block (known as “St Gabriel’s”) be removed allowing us to extend the playing area on the top pitch.
Why we need your help
Unsurprisingly, none of this is cheap. We have economised the build by reducing the square footage from previous designs and utilising a range of professional skills from across the club’s network to save on fees. But with rising building costs, some cannot be mitigated.
As you can see from the above chart, we are trying to raise at least £50,000 to show our final granting bodies that we are serious about this – and we absolutely are! So please help us if you can by donating now, or getting involved in the Pavilion Fundraising Taskforce by emailing James Gray on james.s.gray@gmail.com.
The project is planned to happen in phases.
- Phase 1 – Minor refurbishments to St Gabriel’s (the smaller changing room building), using separate grants suitable for refurbishment work. Cost estimated at £25,000.
- Phase 2 & 3 – Demolition of the old pavilion and build of a new pavilion that features 2 changing rooms. Cost estimated at £930,000 (estimate by Quantity Surveyor based on RIBA Stage 1 design work).
- Phase 3b – New pavilion fit-out. Cost estimated at £70,000 with majority from a separate grant that cannot be used for build costs.
- Phase 4 & 5 – Demolition of St Gabriel’s and extension of the new pavilion by and extra two changing rooms. Cost estimated in the region of £330,000.
Our current focus is on achieving phases 1-3, with phases 4-5 likely to be some time into the future.
How else can I help?
If you don’t feel able to make a financial contribution there are plenty of other ways you can play a part. Here are some suggestions:
- Could you complete a sponsored event to raise some funds?
- Do you have skills that could be used in either the fundraising or construction process?
- Do you have contacts that could help us source cheaper building materials?
- Could you organise or contribute to putting on an event that would raise money for the pavilion?
- Would your employer be interested in sponsoring the club or making a donation?
These are just a few of the many things you could do to help out. If you think you could do one of the above or have your own idea of how you could contribute then please get in touch via our main club mailbox (enquiries.smcricketclub@gmail.com).
Why is a cricket club important?
One of the great societal challenges in modern Britain is high levels of inactivity.
In December 2021, the Committee on a National Plan for Sport and Recreation published its report called on the Government to:
- Ensure that local authorities to provide adequate facilities for sport and physical activity
- Increase funding and support for organisations delivering to underrepresented groups (women and girls, disabled people, ethnic minorities, the elderly and people from less affluent backgrounds)
- Make PE a core national curriculum subject in schools, to tackle inactivity in children
- Encourage schools and colleges to develop closer links with local sports clubs to tackle drop-out from physical activity
- Ensure that sports club encourage a welcoming and inclusive environment with rigorous safeguarding measures
As SMCC, we are already delivering on every one of the above priorities.
Outdoor sport facilities are in short supply and high demand in inner London. Through the club’s ongoing existence, we protect and maintain the facilities at our home ground so that future generations will continue to enjoy them. By renting pitches in multiple local parks, we also help financially support these facilities for all to use.
With over 130 female members and growing rapidly each year, we are at the forefront of the popularisation of girls’ and women’s cricket. In 2022, our number of female squads doubled to four girls’ squads and two women’s squads. A number of teenage girls are now starting to play regularly in senior cricket, which is a trend we’re seeing in our boys’ section as well; this year we will have squads for every year-group up to Under 17s as well as a Development XI (teens + young adults) and most of these teens also play in senior teams.
Around 35% of our players are of ethnicities other than white, and 2-3% of our players have a disability. Our membership includes players of all ages right up to retirees, and every year we assist numerous players and parents on low incomes with our “ability to pay is not a barrier to play” policy.
A recent survey of parents suggests that we have created an extremely welcoming environment for all, but we also have robust safeguarding training and processes in place and we thoroughly investigate all reported incidences, taking swift and decisive action on the very rare occasions when it is required.
This year we expect around 150 adults and 350 children to stay active and healthy with us. With indoor training from October to April, then outdoor training, junior cricket camps and over 400 cricket matches in the summer, we estimate that we deliver over 43,000 hours of organised cricket activity per year in all.
But physical activity is only one of the benefits that we provide. Sport also helps to tackle another big societal challenge – mental wellbeing.
In the words of Sport England, “there’s plenty of evidence that taking part in physical activity can have a profound and positive impact on mental wellbeing.”
SMCC helps people new to the area to make friends and become part of the community. For some members, we also provide a vital social support network in times of personal difficulty and loneliness.
We promote a “cricket is a game for everyone” message and we pro-actively support initiatives such as the LGBTQ “Rainbow Laces” campaign.
Counting families, partners and social members, we are a sporting and social hub for at least 1,000 members of the local community, bringing together young and old, male and female, wealthy and disadvantaged and a huge range of religions and ethnicities.
Many of our players and parents become friends for life, and we believe that we play an essential role in bringing and binding our local community together.
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