Plans Submitted for New Sports Pavilion at Woodlands, Castor

The sports pavilion will provide dedicated changing facilities, a large community space for indoor exercise activity or meetings and a kitchen which can be used by local sports teams and the local community. This will be the first building for Nene Park Trust outside Ferry Meadows, with the ambition of improving the health and wellbeing of more people across the city.

The plans also include a yearround Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on site which will offer users a place for sport and recreation in all weathers throughout the year.

The Trust has worked with local architects BBA and landscape architects Sheils Flynn to produce a scheme that will sit sensitively in the surrounding landscape, meet the needs of current users, enable a more diverse range of sports participation on site and provide the community with a welcoming and accessible space for meetings, classes and events.

Nene Park Trust has now submitted plans to Peterborough City Council for a new sports pavilion and Multi Use Games Area on the Woodlands sports pitches in Castor.

The sports pitches are currently used by Thorpe Wood Rangers Football Club and Bretton and Bharat Cricket Clubs. The new proposed facilities will improve the experience for these clubs and many other users across the city and local community. Castor and Ailsworth Tennis Club are planning to join Woodlands and they have well developed plans to enhance the tennis sporting offer on the site, including five artificial grass courts with environmentally-friendly floodlighting, two pickleball courts and two padel tennis courts. The courts will be open to all.

Tony Buckingham, secretary of Bretton Cricket Club says: “When the proposed state-of-the-art clubhouse is built, Woodlands will once again become the flagship that all sports centres will look up to by providing sports and leisure facilities that will be second to none, in a safe and picturesque environment.”

Jonathan Bigham from Cricket East says, “These facilities are so vital for the Peterborough sporting community in helping to bring people together and to help develop and enhance the excellent current provision that is currently offered at Woodlands.”

Andrew MacDermott, Deputy CEO of Nene Park Trust states that “Nene Park Trust is delighted to be one step closer to realising the vision at Woodland for local sporting clubs and communities. Securing the site in 2017 we were able to protect this valued green space to ensure long term sustainable activity on the site in line with our charitable objectives. The new building and Multi-Use Games Area will provide facilities for a diverse range of activity and sport enabling the Woodlands site to be fit for purpose today and in the future”

More information on these plans along with further images and FAQs can be found at: www.nenepark.org.uk/woodlands-sports-facilities

Anne Lloyd (nee Jakes) presented the 'Alec Jakes Cup' to the current secretary of Castor & Ailsworth Cricket Club, Josh Weaver, in memory of her father Alec Jakes.

Caster & Ailsworth Cricket Club

This took place on Sunday 2nd April 2023 at the Club Ground on Castor Recreation Field.

Alec would have been a 100 years old this year and his two daughters thought this would be an ideal time to present this award. His eldest daughter Lynne was unable to attend.

Alec joined the Cricket Club as a 13 year old in 1936 until his passing in 2003. He played for the club 38 years, mainly as a bowler but a hard hitting batsman late in the team order, usually wearing no batting gloves and certainly with no head helmet! They were not heard of in those days. He was the club secretary for 30 years and was a member of numerous organisation in Castor and Ailsworth, including the Gardening Club and Parish Council.

With Alec being a prominent and fearful bowler, the award will be for the Cricket Club's 'Best Bowling Performance' of each season.