Many will be aware that for some years we have been working with Knebworth Park Cricket Club to try and find a long term home for the Club. Since the 1800s we have gifted the Club a peppercorn rent on its main pitch, which from the 1920s has been directly in front of Knebworth House. We enjoy being the Club’s neighbour, but the unique backdrop of Knebworth House is too precious for our struggling finances to offer on a peppercorn rent indefinitely, and the Club has now grown to a size where it would benefit from having more space than this site allows.
The search for a new site is proving particularly difficult. Although the Parish Plan tells us that the community wants more facilities, particularly for young people, it seems the community doesn’t want the activity and traffic that goes with them. For over a year we’ve been exploring with Old Knebworth residents whether Jubilee Park – the field opposite the Lytton Arms – might be suitable. There have been a number of drafts of possible layouts, but it has become clear that there is not sufficient support in this location for what the Club is trying to achieve and so we have dropped this idea.
And so the search goes on. We will continue to support the Club in seeking to secure its future and we hope that our neighbours and the local authorities will do the same. It will be a tragedy for the community if the Club cannot find a future in Knebworth.
Henry Lytton Cobbold
www.knebworthhouse.com