The curious case of the Prime Minister and six-hitting at Crossflatts Cricket Club

This is about new housing, planning permission, red tape, proximity to a cricket club, Sport England, flawed references to Freddie Flintoff, risk assessments and common sense.

Add in an intervention by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer and things get interesting.

While my article on Scarborough Cricket Club’s first-team was blowing up, I had a screenshot ping into my direct messages about a Telegraph & Argus article by local democracy reporter Chris Young.

It concerns an office building earmarked by a developer, Aire Valley Ltd, to be converted into 139 flats that is next to Crossflatts Cricket Club.

I live locally, have played against Crossflatts and know the people there so this is close to home in every sense.

The height of safety fencing

The project has hit uncertainty over an objection placed by Sport England who argue that the proposed height of the fence (3m) is not tall enough. They have stated that the risk assessment submitted by Aire Valley Ltd “doesn’t appear to have been undertaken via a specialist qualified consultant.”

They go onto state: “Residents, visitors and property at the application site could be at risk of both injury and damage from cricket balls”.

I completely agree with Sport England. This isn’t interfering or nitpicking by them. They are pointing out the very real dangers that we see at cricket grounds all over the country.

Let’s get that out of the way early. Typically, developers want to build housing as quickly as possible but know next to nothing about the risks associated with cricket.

This is about safety before anything else and let’s not forget, a cricket club’s potential liabilities, as well as risks to home-owners. Anyone who’s seen a spectator hit by a cricket ball, as I have, knows that it can be really serious.

True, accidents don’t happen every day but if you whack up a load of properties, complete with busy car park, next to a place where cricket balls are regularly hit out of the ground then guess what, problems will arise.

So, how high is high enough for this ruddy fence?

I mean honestly. I’ll help. I’m tempted to organise a six-hitting contest, sponsored by Cricket Yorkshire, to see who can reach the flats or where the car park is situated.

Howzat for qualified consultancy?

(🚨 Don’t worry, Mrs Cricket Yorkshire, I wouldn’t actually do this. I don’t want to swap our office biscuit fund for legal fees. Though perhaps I can sponsor a fence building contest instead?).

Photo: Caught Light Photography

How far can you hit a cricket ball?

This seems to be nub of the debate and so let’s point out some inconvenient truths.

Crossflatts Cricket Club’s 1st XI are bouncing up the divisions. When the planning application was first approved in 2021 to build flats on the site, Crossflatts’ firsts were in Division 3 of the Bradford Premier League.

At their current rate of progression, by the time the housing development is finished, I predict Crossflatts will be playing county cricket.

For the 2025 season, Crossflatts are now in Division 1 and among others, they face Hartshead Moor who have the likes of Tim Bresnan in their squad.

Pretty sure Brez is still handy with the bat. He’s been belting runs for England in the International Masters League after all.

The calibre of club cricket is being underestimated. There are plenty of talented big-hitters in the Bradford League who could reach those properties (certainly the car park) with a swing of the bat.

I happen to know that Crossflatts are on the verge of signing an overseas player who has played in the Caribbean Premier League. There are former county cricketers, first-class pros from other countries and outstanding local cricketers across this and other divisions.

Not to mention the fact that if Crossflatts get drawn in a cup against a Premier Division side like Woodlands or New Farnley, get ready for fireworks.

A letter from the agents for the developers to the Council says they have spoken to a consultant on the issue, who compared the distances at Crossflatts Cricket Club to Headingley.

It states: “Unlike Headingley, it will not be Freddie Flintoff that is striking a ball from this ground it will be Mr Jones on a Saturday/Sunday morning. Mr Flintoff, in his best years, would have struggled to clear a 4m high fence that you propose on this development to the boundary.”

That is just ludicrously not true. Something you’d know with any knowledge of cricket.

Here are my takeaways:

Crossflatts CC are not the villain in this soap opera.

The cricket club doesn’t stand in the way of new housing. Any Sport England guidance to Bradford Council’s planning department is done independently.

Crossflatts’ Cricket Development Officer Lee Bailey told me: “We aren’t opposed to the Aire Valley Ltd housing scheme. We just want adequate fencing so no-one gets hurt or property damaged.”

It’s my view that Sir Keir Starmer’s comments are unfortunate because they don’t reflect the reality faced by many cricket clubs where housing is put up alongside existing community sports facilities.

In his speech, by referencing how developments can be delayed by “a cottage industry of checkers and blockers” the PM indirects positions the cricket club as part of the problem.

They aren’t. They were here before the housing and they’ll be here afterwards too.

I’ll tell you the irony in all of this. Some of you will know because I’ve covered it before on the website, others won’t.

The controversy this has created isn’t really about the right housing development at Crossflatts.

Crossflatts are at the centre of not one but two planning disputes. Had the PM visited their BD16 base at Ryshworth Park, he’d have been surprised to see a cluster of houses to the right of the boundary rope.

You can literally walk out from your outdoor patio to field at fine leg in seconds. It is very close.

The project to convert a car park to the West of Crossflatts CC (see photo above) got initial planning permission in 2021 but this was quashed on Judicial Review. Sport England objected to the building work, as did the cricket club, Bingley Town Council and other parties for a host of reasons.

It ranged from proximity to the cricket club and danger from stray balls hitting the houses to loss of parking. As you can see, construction work continued anyway and houses were built nonetheless.

There has now been a key decision on that separate thread of this related saga which has dogged Crossflatts for years. The Secretary of State has now ruled that demolition can take place.

I mention it not to confuse the two cases but there are obvious similarities with the same cricket club unwittingly at the centre of both.

When politics meet club cricket

Having never been elected as Prime Minister, I can only imagine the pressures of navigating our country through choppy waters from a shrinking economy to diplomacy around the war in Ukraine.

Starmer’s intervention into the world of club cricket inevitably leads to global headlines – including mine – but we can distill all this fuss down to something far simpler.

When you put aside the politics and the local government red tape, it really boils down to the height of a fence.

We talking about a multi-million pound housing development and whether the fence is 10m or 30m tall, it can and should be paid for by the developers.

Without having my crystal ball to hand, it’s hard to imagine that won’t happen when everything is built and the prospect of sales sharpens the minds.

It staggers me that hundreds of hours of time, endless emails, meetings, letters and perhaps legal fees are being wasted on a very simple decision.

Crossflatts Cricket Club are at the heart of their community. That’s the real story. Let’s not lose sight of it amid ball strikes and regulations.

They have a thriving junior section and the development of women and girls’ cricket in the area is remarkable. With around 200 members, their growth and impact is a credit to everyone associated with the club.

They’ve been through enormous stress, a black hole of admin not of their doing and there’s probably a bingo card in the clubhouse (or maybe a fine jar?) relating to perimeter fencing, developers or ball strikes.

Have your say!

Thanks for Crossflatts to their contribution to this feature and all of our readers, you’re welcome to leave a comment below – I read them all – and you can also have your say over on Cricket Yorkshire’s Facebook page.