WATFORD (CASSIOBURY) CROQUET CLUB LAWN IRRIGATION PROJECT
£15,000 towards capital projects, which are enhanced by claiming Gift Aid. These donations, as well as the grant, enabled us to move ahead with the project, knowing that 66% of the projected costs were covered, leaving the Club with a healthy balance sheet upon completion. During the summer and Autumn of 2022, we began investigating the feasibility and options for an automatic irrigation system. We discovered that the local golf and bowls clubs were using boreholes instead of mains water, which would be the preferable option on environmental grounds and likely to be the cheaper way forward in the long term, despite the initial higher capital cost. Advice from several clubs, who already had sprinkler systems installed, was much appreciated. The next stage was to obtain written confirmation from both Affinity Water and the Environmental Agency, that they had no objections to the use of a borehole and the expected water consumption would not require an Extraction License. In June 2023 a hydrogeological survey was commissioned. The report was promising, indicating there was an ample supply of water at an expected depth of 20 to 25 meters. This gave us the confidence to invite tenders from a number of borehole contractors. A few months later we selected Smith & Webb, a local contractor. During this time, we had been talking to WBC and the Parks management team, about our plans. However, shortly before we intended to proceed, we were advised that the installation of an automatic irrigation system would be subject to formal planning permission from WBC, albeit it was on land owned by the council. In December 2023, we submitted an application for planning permission, which was in turn published by the Council. This led to some local residents making formal objections on the grounds that the pop‐up sprinklers would be noisy and that the trees could be potentially damaged by digging trenches for the pipework. As a consequence, the scheme had to be put before a full Council planning meeting for consideration. This meeting took place on 8th February, with both the Club and the objectors making a short presentation at the meeting. We were able to make the case that the Council itself installed the automatic system at the nearby Bowls Club in the park and no complaints were received regarding noise. At the meeting the Councilors were mindful to approve our scheme, however the Planning Officer, wanted a time restriction, to appease the local residents. Two days later, we received written planning approval, albeit with a couple of further stipulations. We had to provide a Tree Protection Plan and confirmation that there is adequate noise protection for the borehole pump located underground. Continued on page 16
by Kevin Currie Trustee Watford (Cassiobury) Croquet Club
For a number of years the Club had been considering the need to install a watering system to the 4 lawns located in Cassiobury Park, on land leased from Watford Borough Council (WBC). In 2022, the Trustees decided to embark on the scheme, having accumulated sufficient funds and with the prospect of fundraising to meet the projected cost of £36,000. By way of background, the Club was established in 1936, with two lawns, which are located close to the club pavilion. Lawns 3 & 4 were previously tennis courts and were levelled in 2017 with funds provided by WBC, as part of a lottery grant awarded to Cassiobury Park. In 2019, we became a registered Charity (CIO). The pavilion, which is leased from WBC, was built in 2021, has kitchen and toilet facilities. We currently have 68 members, playing both codes of croquet, ranging from beginners to players with considerable experience with UK rankings. One of our members is part of the England training squad. As a Club we have supported and hosted the various national competitions run by Croquet England and have been winners of the Murphy Shield in 2021, 2018, 2017 and 2013, the Mary Rose in 2017 and the Longman Cup in 2001. We are active participants of the EACF, entering numerous teams in East Anglian leagues. Four members of our Club sit on the EACF Committee. The main objective of the project was to improve the lawn quality in the summer months by making sure the lawns are adequately watered in order that patches of grass do not dry out and die, particularly along the northern boundaries of lawns 1 & 2, which are affected by large trees in the park. Ultimately, improving the quality of the lawns will allow the Club to support a higher level of Croquet England tournaments than we are currently able to do. Furthermore, we wish to increase the Club’s membership by improving the lawn quality and encourage a wider community involvement. At the outset of the project, two Trustees volunteered to investigate fundraising. Several nearby Croquet Clubs were contacted to ‘pick their brains’, on how they went about raising funds for their projects. Newport and Northampton were particularly helpful, as was Beatrice McGlen, who all freely shared their experiences and offered great advice. We approached Croquet England, through Jonathan Toye, our Federation Development Officer, who supported our application for a grant in February this year. This was considered and we were granted £5,000 towards the project. We also considered a Crowdfunding approach, which potentially could have included match funding from Sport England. Ultimately, we did not need to use Crowdfunding as, following an update to members in the January newsletter, two members kindly offered donations of
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