New halls may send Exeter’s historic cricket pavilion to the scrapheap

Cricket fans are at war with the university over plans to demolish Exeter’s historic cricket pavilion and build new halls in their place.

The ancient building has played host to cricketing greats, such as WG Grace and recently Australian Ashes loser Chris Rogers.

Peacetime: the cricket pavilion as it currently stands

But with the club’s coffers empty, they need to sell land to property developers who want to build new student housing, or risk losing the ground altogether.

That could mean demolishing the beloved pavilion to make space for the new halls.

In a bid to keep everyone happy, the developers, Yelverton Ltd., have suggested a public consultation on December 13th.

Lafrowda: one of the University’s other recent developments

Local councillor Keith Owen backed the move: “I would encourage anyone interested in this beautiful part of St. James to attend this event if they can.”

Any friction that may be caused by such a development is likely to hinge on whether the aesthetics of such a picturesque ground will be affected.

Holland Hall: another new development that divides opinion

The question then, is whether losing the pavilion, with all its tradition, is a worthy sacrifice in order to keep the ground itself.

The results of the consultations are certainly set to be crucial to not only the development process, but also to the future of Exeter Cricket Club.

The pavilion in use during an EUMCC fixture last year

The consultations will take place in the Flybe Suite at Exeter Football Club from 3pm to 7pm on Friday, December 13th and 10am till noon on Saturday, December 14.

There is also a vote taking place via the Exeter Express & Echo; it is imperative that all those wishing to see the ground survive as a cricketing venue vote ‘yes’ to the developments in question.