Image l-r - John Hartnett, Tom Bailey, County Councillor Aidy Riggott, Phoebe Graham, Mark Chilton

Eric Wright Construction has started work on the delivery of a high-quality cricket facility for Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Cricket.

The new facility, which will be developed at Farington in Central Lancashire, will bring together elite and community cricket in one high quality development. With a 19-month build time, it is hoped that cricket could be played at Farington in the 2025 cricket season. To mark the start of work on site, John Hartnett, MD from Eric Wright Construction joined County Councillor Aidy Riggott, cabinet member for economic development and growth, and Lancashire Cricket’s Mark Chilton for a turf-cutting ceremony on the site.

The new facility will become a Women’s Centre of Excellence for the North-West of England and will help Lancashire Cricket continue to bring through the cricketers of the future.

County Councillor Aidy Riggott, cabinet member for economic development and growth, said: “This pioneering development in the heart of the county, will provide new professional standard facilities for the club, as well as being a valuable asset for the local community with multiple benefits to health and wellbeing. We’re pleased that we’ve brought in Lancashire-based Eric Wright Construction to build this facility, bringing an excellent track record in providing further benefits to the county through local jobs and procurement.”

Mark Chilton, Director of Cricket Performance at Lancashire cricket said: “This is a landmark day for Lancashire Cricket as construction begins at Farington, a unique ground that will bring together elite and community cricket – located on one site in the heart of our county.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on, alongside Lancashire County Council, for a long while now and the development will provide top class elite facilities for both our men’s and women’s side which can also serve recreational cricket and the wider community at the same time.

“Our aim is to have cricket take place by the end of the 2025 season and we are all incredibly excited at the Club to watch the progression of the site over the next couple of years. We would also like to thank Lancashire County Council for all their assistance with the project.”

John Hartnett managing director of Eric Wright Construction said: “This is a going to be a superb new sporting facility and we are incredibly proud to have been appointed by LCC and Lancashire Cricket to deliver this for the region. As a Lancashire based business enhancing the facilities within our community is really important to us and we’re excited to have now started on site with the support of our local labour force.”

The facility will feature two cricket pitches and host a number of men’s and women’s competitive matches each year. The second cricket pitch will support community, recreational and youth cricket, as well as offering a new training facility for the club.

The ECB provided £1.6m in funding towards the development of the new facility.

Find out more about the project at www.lancashire.gov.uk/cricket.