Puddletown Recreation Ground renovation is approved

Work will begin in September with around £30,000 in grants from Sport England.

Puddletown have risen sharply up the Dorset League divisions, achieving three successive promotions – minus the Covid-affected season in 2020.

Puddle were handed promotion to County Division One in 2021 following the voluntary relegation of Shillingstone and are currently unbeaten after seven rounds.

League rules stipulate matches at that level must be played on grass wickets – placing the artificial strip of Puddletown Rec out of use for first-team matches.

Puddletown have played at Winfrith and, in 2021, Plush to accommodate the rules and will also host Weymouth at Milton Abbey on Saturday, July 10.

However, Puddletown Parish Council has now approved plans to convert the Rec to six grass pitches, rotated 90 degrees from the current position.

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But plans to extend the Rec’s short leg-side boundary have been postponed.

Speaking to Echosport, Puddletown captain Adam Barrett said: “We’re over the moon.

“It’s been slightly longer than we hoped with Covid but Sport England have been brilliant throughout, saying the grant money is secure and safe.

“Where it’s a recreation ground, we’ve got difficulties to get planning.

“Luckily, the parish have been superb about it, understanding how cricket is a really important part of the community in Puddletown.

“It’s a great opportunity for people in the village to get involved in the sport and keep active.

“The project is currently out for tender until the end of June with the goal to lay the wickets at the end of September.

“We’ve had a couple of soil surveys done and apparently the Rec has got really good drainage, which means it won’t take as long to bed in and repair as some grounds would.

“As a result, we’re hopeful we may be able to play next season on the grass wickets. That’s subject to change. If we had a bad winter of weather that might not be the case.

“We’re hopeful we’ll be able to play next summer, which would be amazing. A lot of hard work’s gone into it.”

This is how Puddletown Rec's new layout will look Picture: TGMS

Puddletown have worked closely with TGMS Sports Surface Consultancy on the new layout of their ground, above.

Following the end of the 2021 season in September, the project will take two weeks to uproot and remove the current turf.

The new surface will then need to settle for four months, with the successful contractor handing Puddle a schedule of care during the off-season to prepare the pitch for action in 2022.

Commenting on Puddletown’s nomadic ground situation, Barrett is keen to return to home pastures.

He said: “At the end of the day, we are Puddletown Cricket Club, so we want to be playing our cricket in Puddletown.

“That’s nothing against Winfrith and Plush because they’ve accommodated us really well.

“Ultimately, we want to be playing cricket in the village we’re representing.

“It’s going to be a brilliant feeling that first game back, playing on what we can call our own ground.”

Having a grass wicket will require significant extra maintenance and Puddletown are therefore enlisting volunteers for its upkeep.

Barrett added: “We’ve got lots of people power but we haven’t got anyone who’s an expert in pitch preparation.

“That’s where we’re hoping to find someone to come forward, someone who will look at it and say: ‘Yep, I’d love to be part of that.’

“Someone in the team can then lead the operation with everyone else helping out behind.”

Puddletown are also on the verge of becoming Clubmark accredited, opening up avenues for funding to secure machinery and equipment for pitch preparation.

For more details contact adambarrett80@live.co.uk