Work planned at Trent Bridge to ensure future as Test Match venue
Plans to make that Trent Bridge cricket ground is suitable for future use as a Test Match venue have been unveiled.
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is seeking approval to expand and partially demolish the Members’ Pavilion to
How the new Pavilion would look
maintain its status as a test match venue.
The club has said that without enhancements, such as improvements to player and official amenities, there is a potential risk to securing major match allocations for 2025 to 2031.
According to planning documents submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council, the current pavilion has consistently fallen short of the necessary standards.
Planners highlighted that the building, which originates from the 1880s, lacked adequate space and quality, with insufficient wheelchair access, failing to meet the standards set by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
They also noted that previous alterations and additions had adversely affected the ground’s oldest structure, considered its most important heritage asset.
The project’s objective is to modernise the pavilion which is currently in a state of disrepair with notable maintenance problems.
While the existing structure comprises three floors, the upgraded version will feature six floors and a basement level, providing the expanded facilities required to accommodate the growing size of teams and their support staff.
Additionally, plans include the provision of fully inclusive changing spaces capable of accommodating teams, coaching staff, and officials of all genders.
A planning statement reads: “The intention is not only that the project will yield facilities that are transformative for the club’s operation, but that the ground will gain a new building that is a strong expression of this new era. The current Pavilion has been regularly altered over its lifetime with less than satisfactory results and much of its original character has been lost. Its significance and presence has also been diminished by the scale and drama of other, more recent developments around the ground. The intention is that the proposal will return the Pavilion to being the primary architectural focus at Trent Bridge.
“The retention of Trent Bridge’s ability to compete for major international cricket fixtures is so fundamental to the future success of the ground and the consequential benefits for the local community that this clearly outweighs the level of ‘less than substantial harm’ that would occur to the heritage value of the existing building.”
The planning application is currently under review by Rushcliffe Borough Council.
