Audley Group breathes new life into historic Scarcroft Cricket Club

As part of Bdaily’s latest feature week, The Business of Sport, we look to luxury retirement village provider Audley Group, which is using its construction expertise to fund a new community project, the renovation of Scarcroft Cricket Club.

Audley has offered to renovate its pavilion and pitch for members and community to enjoy. Nestled within the grounds of Audley Scarcroft Park, Scarcroft Cricket Club has been an “integral” part of the surrounding area since 1933.

As part of Audley’s CSR strategy to work closely with local communities around its village locations, it has brought in local contractors 5Rise and its construction partner Graham construction to “completely revitalise” the club.

The pavilion was said to be in a state of disrepair with a leaky roof and surrounding paths in a dangerous condition. Works will include roof, guttering and front veranda repairs, external decoration and creation of an entry ramp and equipment store.

Nick Sanderson, CEO, Audley Group, said: “We know that the Scarcroft Cricket Club has been the heartbeat of the local community for many years, and as newcomers to that community we wanted to give back and support the preservation of the cricket club pitch and pavilion.

“Like many community sports clubs up and down the country, financial constraints have made it difficult for the cricket club to maintain regular upkeep and we hope that the support we can offer will ease this burden.

“We look forward to a long and strong relationship with the club and the community; as a cricket fan myself I am looking forward to seeing a match!”

Simon Johnson, president, Scarcroft Cricket Club added: “We can’t praise Audley’s support enough. From the initial consultation stage, they’ve embraced our club to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum as well as funding the renovation of the pavilion, plus sponsorship of new covers and match balls.

“It’s really important to us that we maintain a strong relationship with Audley, as well as the Scarcroft Village Council, to guarantee the future of our thriving club, and we look forward to welcoming their guests to our club in the summers ahead.”

The work is part of Audley’s wider CSR strategy, which has included the launch this year of the Audley Foundation, a new independent charity, which supports local and national charities to make a lasting difference to the lives of older people.

This year, the Audley Foundation is supporting the Care Worker Charity, and will also install ‘chatty benches’ in town centres across the UK to help combat loneliness.

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