West Berkshire cricket club to build new pavilion after arson

The club’s welfare officer and captain of the men’s second team, David Brown, said that the club had now received planning permission to build a new pavilion.
“We’ve done the majority of the hard work and now we’re champing at the bit to start the construction,” he said.
Greenham Common Trust has offered £42,000 of match funding towards the new building, and the club is now trying to raise the rest to accept the offer.
The club already has a £5,000 grant from Englefield Trust and has applied for funding through Sport England.
Temporary changing rooms will have to be installed if new pavilion is not built in time for the new season on May 5.
“We’re very grateful to Greenham Common Trust and Englefield Trust for their kind donations,” Mr Brown said.
“Over the past few years we’ve built up our youth structure. We now have an under-13s and under-15s team, both of which were promoted last season, along with our men’s first team who will play in Berkshire League Division One next season.
This week, the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that, after a full investigation, it was confirmed that the blaze was deliberate.
At the time of the incident, the club, located in Heath Road, Bradfield Southend, was in the process of applying for English and Wales Cricket Board clubmark status. When the fire broke out those plans had to be shelved, as the focus shifted to building a new pavilion.
Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Rebecca Webber said that, so far, no one has been arrested or charged in connection with the arson.
“The matter was originally recorded as arson and officers carried out a full investigation,” she said.
“The fire service report says that the cause of the fire is inconclusive but, on the balance of probabilities, they consider it to be arson, although they cannot say that it was definitely deliberate.
“The matter has been fully investigated by officers and all lines of enquiry have been exhausted. The matter has been filed, unless any new evidence comes to light,” she added.
If you would like to join or sponsor the club, call Mr Brown on (0118) 9605555 or email david@letterworks.co.uk
The club is encouraging members of the public to become involved by making a donation, or buying a brick for the new pavilion. For more details, visit www.bradfieldcc.org