Residents of a quiet Farington street say their concerns about the new Lancashire Cricket Ground which will surround them have been ignored

The four houses on Fowler Avenue will lie 40 metres away from the new ground, which will provide a year-round sports facility for Lancashire, hosting a number of competitive matches each year when Emirates Old Trafford is unavailable, and providing a training base for the men’s and women’s teams.

Since being announced last November, the proposal has been going through a consultation period, organised by Royal Pilgrimage, but those on Fowler Avenue have been left angry and disappointed by the process.

One resident, Michael Chodasiewicz, said: “My biggest concern is the consultation hasn't been a consultation. To me, a consultation is a two way communication but it was very much a proposal, ‘this is what we're doing’. As far as I'm concerned Lancashire Cricket Club representatives, representatives of Lancashire County Council, have listened to and ignored all of the concerns of the residents of our camp and the Woodcock Estate as well.”

Michael summarises that their concerns involve “a loss of light, a loss of privacy, and the loss of a quiet area.”

Soundwise, the residents note that whilst cricket matches are loud in themselves, it is the presence of the practice nets which are a particular issue, as it will mean there is “a constant crack, crack, crack” all year round.

In the last meeting, it was announced that the practice nets would be moved from the opposite side of the ground to the Fowler Avenue side, proving an even sorer point for residents.

Lancashire County Council said the move was necessary following discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board about the safeguarding of younger players and disablility access to the pavilion.

They add that the practice nets have been subjected to noise surveys, and mitigation measures, such as acoustic fencing, have been proposed as a result.

However the Fowler Avenue residents told the Post that these reasons do not necessitate this move, and the only noise they get at the moment are cows, adding that the mitigaton measures are not enough.

Michael also says the 6m height of the practice nets and the pavilion will cast a shadow over their road.

He added: “I know we don't have right to a view but we have right to a point of view, and we have a right to be listened to.”

A loss of privacy is felt most keenly by elderly resident, Mary Bamber, who has lived on Fowler Avenue with her husband for 56 years.

As part of the cricket pitch, a one storey banking will be built which people will “be able to walk along the top of and look straight into my bedroom window”, says Mary.

Mary, a retired gardener, added: “I was hoping to spend the rest of my days here but I can’t imagine not being able to go into my garden without being overlooked all the time and people being able to look through my bedroom window on the top of the banking. I know it's good for the youth of today, but I watched Freddie Flintoff’s show, and you do get young lads who have to come to the cricket pitch with the school, who get bored and decide to see how far they can throw things into my garden. People don't know that there are any houses down here, it’s so secluded and now we’re going to have everybody coming around, and peering in.”

Mary’s home will also form a somewhat “roundabout” for the cricket ground, as they are installing a new service road at the end of her garden, and a car park at the other side of her semi-detached neighbour’s house, whilst the preexisting main road (the A582) on Mary’s side is being widened and brought closer to her

Mary, who lived in her house before the A582 was even built added: “My main issue is the road and my privacy. When they built the main road, I was devastated but you do learn to live with your problem as time goes by, but I'm getting too old to be putting up with diggers, and dirt and noise.”

She added that the fact the meetings have been all over Zoom has made it even harder for her to get her voice across.

Another resident who had hoped to spend his retirement days in a peaceful area is recently retired motor mechanic Tony Willetts, 66.

He said: “Our general feelings are that we're going to inherit a pub, because they will not survive without functions, they’ve admitted that. So there’s noise, and even light pollution, they said they're going to practice until eight o'clock at night!

“They’re not really too concerned about us, there’s no proper security, they’re retaining the original hedgerows as if they’re doing us a favour.

“Our lane is a private lane, owned and cared for by the residents, we feel like that'll become a rat run. The approaching lane for our Fowler Lane is adopted by Lancashire County Council, it’s a very sleepy quiet lane, which will turn out to be an add-on car park, and lo and behold the footpath entrances are at the bottom of our lane, so they'll use our lane to access the footpath, and then there'll be on to the cricket pitch. So in real terms, everything's against us, we're not all of us together saying we wouldn't have the cricket pitch, but we just feel that we're not being heard, and there is no movement other than the plan they made up and unfortunately, that plan for us, is awful.”

The four houses at the end of Fowler Avenue sent a letter to Royal Pilgrimage at the beginning of the consultant period, but say it never received a response.

Lancashire County Council have said that all written and verbal comments received from neighbours have been fully considered by the development team.

They also added that planting and landscaping have been proposed to help maintain people's privacy; there are no plans for floodlights; traffic modelling has been carried out and a detailed match-day event plan addressing traffic, parking and other matters will be put into place when larger crowds are expected.

County Councillor Aidy Riggott, Cabinet member for economic development and growth at Lancashire County Council, said: "This is a fantastic project which will create high quality cricket facilities in the heart of the county, with a significant boost to our economy and new jobs.

"These are exciting proposals and I'm really pleased that they would help to encourage more people to take part in sport, especially younger people.

"We announced the plans in December to get people's views. Thank you to everyone who gave their views to help to shape the plans. Since then, we've made changes based on feedback we received and we're looking forward to announcing the updated plans soon."