Tor Bridge High in Estover, Plymouth, will now be able to host club cricket as well as offering vastly improved training facilities for the young up-and-coming cricketers in the region, thanks to the top of the range equipment installed at the school by Kier.

Kier, which began building the three-phase, multi-million pound Tor Bridge High campus back in 2009, was always keen to improve the level of cricket facilities for the school and the local community and, thanks to behind the scenes work with David Bayliss of architects Stride Treglown, it realised there might be an opportunity to get extra funding for the work. David - himself a Devon Cricket Board (DCB) official - in dialogue with the ECB made a case to secure funding to deliver the improvements. The school has been an enthusiastic recipient and welcomed the opportunity to bring community expertise to its new facilities.

Funding from the ECB and Sport England was secured to:
• Increase size and quality of the square, so there could be more top quality wickets
• Increase performance and specification of lighting within the sports hall, providing two additional specialist indoor nets and mats to that already included in the scheme.

Chris Whitaker, ECB regional funding & facilities manager (south & south-west), commented: "Investing in a site like this can make a big difference to the wider cricket community by providing access to high quality practice and playing facilities. Working with a willing partner such as the college has many benefits for the local cricket structure as it provides an opportunity to develop a number of sporting partnerships, such as coaching, expanding the player base and potential recruitment into established cricket cubs.

"The college too will benefit from the revenue generated by the influx of clubs looking for high-end practise and playing facilities. The ECB and DCB look forward to the continuing development of cricket in Plymouth."

The wicket will be maintained by one of the local DCB affiliated clubs, which will partner with the school to accommodate a much more intensive fixture list for both the school and Plymouth Cricket Club.

Kier procurement manager Alastair Mullen said: "The really exciting bit - beyond improving the wicket and future-proofing the services infrastructure for a potential pavilion - is that the ECB has undertaken to improve the indoor training facilities. The variation, paid for by the ECB, includes upgrading the lighting and providing nets, mats and a suitable floor finish allowing year-round cricket practise."

To see how the facilities have already had an impact view the video on the ECB website.
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