A historic former cricket and bowling club pavilion is set to be restored as part of an assisted living and housing development in Huyton, Merseyside.
The Grade II-listed pavilion at Huyton Cricket and Bowling Club, on Huyton Lane, was originally built in 1875. It has been abandoned for around a decade and the 6.5 acre site itself has also been largely unused for several years.
North West property developer Breck completed the purchase of the site in October and intends to submit a planning application in early 2025 which will include the sensitive restoration of the former pavilion.
Andy Garnett, director, Breck said: “Since purchasing the cricket club site last month, we have been liaising with Knowsley Council to ensure our plans for the land’s redevelopment maximise the benefits for the local Huyton community while giving new life to the former cricket pavilion.
“There is a real need for housing in Huyton and across the North West. The redevelopment of the site will help to provide this, giving new high-quality homes to local families and also providing specific accommodation for elderly residents who wish to live independently with some additional assistance.
“The club meant so much to so many people and we will also work with Heritage England to ensure the restoration is sensitive and appropriate – among the proposals is for it to become a new community hub as part of the development.”
Formed in 2020, Breck is based at Walton Summit, near Preston. It specialises in developing houses between 25 and 250 units for registered affordable housing providers as well as homes for open market sale on sites between 10 and 100 units.
It currently has an active development pipeline of around 1300 housing units across the North of England.
Huyton Cricket Club was formed in 1860 and its pavilion, built 15 years later, is one of the oldest surviving structures in cricket. In addition to the pavilion and cricket pitch, the site included a bowling green which was also affiliated with the cricket club, allowing older members to remain part of the club once they were no longer selected for the first team.
Due to the site being largely unused in recent years, a number of invasive species have been detected by Breck staff since the purchase which could affect the speed of the new development, including Japanese knotweed.
Andy Garnett said: “We have begun exploratory works on-site to understand the extent of the issues, which involves clearing parts of the site for investigation. The former pavilion will not be affected by these works.”
