Wakefield cricket club hopes clubhouse plans will make it more inclusive

Plans to expand a cricket club will help boost sport for women and minority groups, according to those behind the proposals.
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Wakefield Thornes Cricket Club, based on Field Lane in the city, wants to expand its clubhouse changing facilities and create a new meeting room which could be used by the community.

The club wants to be more inclusive and accessible for female cricketers, ethnic minorities and disabled people and hopes their expansion plans will help them achieve that.

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The only social space the club currently has is a bar, which officials say is inadequate for many of the activities it puts on, which include first aid courses and play groups for children with autism.

The club plays its home games at Field Lane in the city.The club plays its home games at Field Lane in the city.
The club plays its home games at Field Lane in the city.

The proposals involve building changing facilities for women and girls which are "more discreet" than they currently have, a new changing room for umpires and a meeting space.

In its application to Wakefield Council, the club said: "The club increasingly works with a range of partners in the provision of sport and community activities.

"At present the club makes the best use it can of its only social provision which is a bar.

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"However this is not adequate and is indeed inappropriate for some of the activities provided: (for example) girl's and women's cricket, black and ethnic minority group cricket and Playscheme for children with autism and learning difficulties."

The club was originally known as Sports Club of Patons and Baldwins Mill until changing its name to Wakefield Thornes Sports Club in the 1980s.

Although the Field Lane ground was maintained by the council for many years, that responsibility has now passed to the club.

Members of the public are able to offer their thoughts on the planning application on the council's online planning portal.

Local Democracy Reporting Service