New and improved sports facilities for Lincoln following £200k investment

Sports teams in Lincoln will benefit from new and refurbished facilities on one of the busiest recreation areas in the city.

The old bowls pavilion on West Common off Carholme Road has been completely renovated thanks to a £200,000 investment.

Improvements to the facility include new toilets and changing facilities, a new kitchen, new windows and walls being partly rebuilt.

A new cricket pavilion, to be used by Carholme Cricket Club and Rustons Cricket Club, has also been constructed.

Funding for the project has come from Section 106 agreements, which are contributions made by developers to be spent on improvements to community facilities.

The pavilion before the upgrades. Photo: City of Lincoln Council

The refurbished sports pavilion at West Common. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Matt Fisher, who plays for Carholme Cricket Club, said: “The facilities were quite limited before. A pavilion had stood where the new one does now for hundreds of years until it was burnt to the ground 10 or 15 years ago.

“Since then, we’ve not had a facility on the Common itself so we’ve had to traipse over to the main building which has similarly had a lot investment.

“It will make a big difference for us in a practical sense as we’ll now have a building where we can put some of our equipment and make game days a better experience.”

Councillor Donald Nannestad, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Recreational Services and Health at City of Lincoln Council, Mayor of Lincoln, Councillor Andrew Kerry, and Matt Fisher from Carholme Cricket Club. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Councillor Donald Nannestad, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Recreational Services and Health at City of Lincoln Council, said: “The area is a nice place to play cricket. It’s a good pitch and it’s very close to the city centre which is quite unusual.

“The changing facilities have also been revamped and are unrecognisable to what was there before.

“We have to provide people with the facilities where other people won’t provide them. Cricket is an excellent sport to play and many years ago I played for the team here but there’s no chance of me coming out of retirement!”

The new changing facilities at the sports pavilion at West Common. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The new facilities have been built by construction company Robert Woodhead in partnership with the city council.

Craig Pygall, Construction Director for Robert Woodhead, said: “We’ve worked hard with a number of partners to bring the old bowls pavilion back to life and fit for purpose.

“We’ve made heating upgrades, decorations, improvements to the changing rooms and built a conservatory which is a great addition to that space.

“We’ve finished on time, on budget and very safely so I’m really pleased with the results.”