Why we are fundraising
Our current pavilion has been approaching the end of its usable life for more than a decade. We have spent many tens of thousands of pounds on repairs over the last 5 years, but the condition of the building continues to worsen. A building survey in 2023 determined that issues include rotting roof timber, cracked walls, rotten flooring, subsidence to foundations and electrical and plumbing/heating systems needing a full replacement. The estimated cost of repairs was £530,000 + VAT. There are no grants available for such large repair jobs.
A cricket club cannot operate without a building that provides changing rooms, toilets, showers and a kitchen, and a space to shelter from the rain. If we were to do nothing, then at some point in the next few years when the building becomes unsafe to use, SMCC would be lost to the local community forever. There are no nearby, vacant locations for the club to move to. The only viable option is a new building.
£706,000 awarded by Community Ownership Fund
The club has spent more than a decade working on a solution. About 5 years ago, we secured £450,000 in grants from Southwark Council (Active Southwark Olympic Legacy Fund), the London Marathon Charitable Trust and the England & Wales Cricket Board.
In March 2024 we received the wonderful news that we have been awarded £706,000 by the Community Ownership Fund. Combined with the club’s £75,000 in cash, and £25,000 fundraised to date in 2024, the new pavilion is now 91% funded.
All that remains to reach 100% is the following;
Design
We must fulfil our commitment to fundraise a further £29,000 by the summer (about £50 per member) which will be used to fund the design phase. See below for details.
Construction
We need just £50,000 more in grant funding. We have applied for this from the Southwark Community Energy Fund and expect to hear the result in May. We have back-up options including Southwark Council’s Cleaner, Greener, Safer Fund (applications in Sept).
Interior furnishing
This funding needs to be applied for in July. We are planning to apply for £50,000 from the Valencia Communities Fund. Again, we have some back-up options should this not be awarded.
We are now very confident that, assuming planning permission is granted on time, we will be able to begin construction at the end of the 2024 summer.
Recent project updates
Design & architecture
- Our planning permission application was submitted in January 2024 and is available for public comment. To date, there have been 108 supporting comments and only 2 objections, one of which was actually a supporting comment. Please do add further messages of support.
- Design and architecture work is continuing in the background while we wait for the outcomes of our grant applications (see below)
Club re-structure
- In January 2024, we became incorporated as Streatham & Marlborough Cricket Club Limited. This step was necessary in order to apply for funding from the Communities Ownership Fund (see below).
- We are in the process of setting up the subsidiary trading company, and of transferring assets from the old structure (which was an unincorporated Community Amateur Sports Club)
Grant applications
- In January, after hundreds of hours of collective work by our team of volunteers, we submitted an application for a £706,000 grant from the Community Ownership Fund, and on 23 March, we learned that we have been awarded the full amount.
- Also in January, we submitted an application for a £50,000 from the Southwark Community Energy Fund. We expect to learn the outcome in early May. Should be not be awarded this grant, we will apply for £50k from the Southwark Cleaner, Greener, Safer Fund in September. We are pretty confident of getting this funding, but we do have some additional fall-backs planned if neither of these is awarded.
- As a separate project, we have also submitted small grant applications to Sport England and Surrey Cricket Foundation/ECB to fund critical refurbishments to our smaller changing room building known as St Gabriel’s.
Fundraising
- We have raised over £20,000 via this Crowdfunder Donations up to £10,000 have been matched by Sport England Active Together, doubling the amount raised.
- Our Girls Under 11s raised over £200 during GetSetWeekend in March by washing cars (see photo above)
- Fixtures Secretary Chris Hobbis is doing an 11-hour Poolathon on 6th April.
- SMCC communications and fundraising lead, James Gray is running a half-marathon on 7 April and he invites you to donate money to fuel his pain.
- In February, the SMCC Women’s section raised over £1000 in donations by collectively running an ultra-marathon.
- Also in February, the SMCC Super Quiz event held at the club raised over £1200.
- In December, our pavilion manager Eileen set out to raise £1000 but raised over raised over £2,300 by having her hair shaved off.
Upcoming fundraising events
Saturday 20 April: Zaltzman & Friends – the stars of Test Match Special descend on SMCC for a night of comedy and cricketing anecdotes. Not to be missed. Tickets available soon…
Sunday 2 June: Stephen Fry heads our line-up of celebrities taking on a Select XI. Places in the team to face the likes of Mattchin from Tailenders and TV’s Will Best will be available for donors to bid on next month. Don’t book any holidays.
Community engagement and support
- On 11th March, we presented an overview of the project at Southwark south region Empowering Communities community forum.
- In January, we collected 24 letters of support for our grant applications. Supporters include our local MP, multiple local councillors, and a London Assembly member, the neighbouring tennis and golf clubs, the Dulwich Estate, the London Wildlife Trust, local schools, five other community groups that already use or are interested in using the building, and six other local organisations who we partner with in delivering cricket to the community
- In January, we engaged with tens of thousands of members of the local community via various online forums and facebook groups
- We welcome further feedback and expressions of interest from other community groups in using the new building via this online feedback form or by emailing us at enquiries.smcricketclub@gmail.com
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, two small rooms for officials to change (can also be used for females playing in male games or vice versa) and disabled access in line with modern building standards as well as ECB and safeguarding requirements. A 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.
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.
We have committed to raising at least £54,000 (including £10,000 of donation-matching from Sport England) by the summer of 2024, as a show of our commitment to making the project happen.
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.
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 a report that called on the Government to:
- Ensure that local authorities provide adequate facilities for sport and physical activity
- Increase funding and support for organisations delivering sport and recreation 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
At 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. The number of teenage girls playing regularly in senior cricket is increasing each year, which is a trend we’re seeing in our boys’ section as well. We 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 28% of our players are of ethnicities other than white, and around 5% of our players have a disability, including two players who play disability cricket for England. Our membership includes players of all ages from 5 to 65+, and every year we assist numerous players and parents on low incomes with our “ability to pay is not a barrier to play” policy.
Our most recent survey of parents suggests that we have created a highly 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 49,000 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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