Following on from Mike Jones’ letter about the Cricket Club in last month’s edition, I’d like to say thank you to all those who have sent letters of support – and concern – about the initial Jubilee Park proposals. We look forward to discussing each and every issue with the planning, conservation and wildlife officers, and incorporating their solutions, suggestions and requirements into future proposals.
Of the many comments we have received, very few have suggested alternative sites. I still believe Jubilee Park has the most potential for both the club and the village. I echo my father’s thinking of the 1980s when he suggested creating the Village Green – that it would improve Old Knebworth both visually and in terms of community spirit. Our destiny may be as a commuter dormitory and thoroughfare to the Stevenage supermarkets, but personally I prefer to live in a village that thrives as a community; and has – at least in terms of leisure – a sense of destination.
I can see the club’s current playing fields now, out of my window, and I consider them a very attractive part of the landscape. They are kept and loved. In the winter I enjoy watching the children play jumpers-for-goalposts. Although not a cricketer myself, I enjoy being the club’s neighbour. Of course the club needs to try and think commercially (an activity at the mercy of the weather is prone to lose money) and certainly it helps to get Government funding the more the club opens its arms to other community sporting activities. But I believe, as a community, we can find an acceptable balance. We mustn’t lose sight of the fact that this is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit, village cricket club. If we want it to survive we must help it adapt, like all village organisations, to an increasingly-regulated, insurance-dictated, 21st Century.
In this respect Jubilee Park has another possible advantage – it may be possible for the club’s landlord to become the Knebworth House Education and Preservation Trust charity (currently 80% shareholders in the Old Knebworth Amenity Company, which manages the Village Green). KHEPT not only has the potential to reduce, if necessary, the club’s commercial pressures, but also is presided over by the elected leaders of our local authorities. I believe we could trust the Trust to maintain a balance acceptable to the community.
Henry Lytton Cobbold
www.knebworthhouse.com