LINDAL Cricket Club’s new pavilion is ahead of schedule as more donations have come in to boost construction.

The Pennington Lane club knocked down their old clubhouse – parts of which dated back to 1924 – in the autumn to allow construction of a new, state-of-the-art facility.

Work is now well under way, with the wooden frame for the building visible from the A590.

The club have recently received donations of £1,500 from the Barrow Community Trust and £300 from the Evening Mail Charitable Trust.

Pavilion project manager Paul Clarke was pleased to receive the funding, and said: “We are delighted to have secured these donations from Barrow Community Trust and the Evening Mail.

“The grants will go a long way towards ensuring the pavilion is finished to a high standard.

“The building will enhance the cricket experience for boys and girls in the local community, which will hopefully mean they keep playing and keep active.

“The new pavilion has given the whole club a boost and we are ahead of schedule with our development plans.

“The South Lakes Maidens women’s team will play their first games this year, which was far beyond our expectations.”

In the old Lindal clubhouse, there were not suitable facilities for girl and lady cricketers, while umpires had no separate changing room.

The demands from girls teams playing at Lindal was one of the driving forces behind the start of the pavilion scheme and those issues will all be put right with the new build, which will feature new dressing rooms for both teams, umpires and one for ladies on men’s match days.

The building will also be available for community use, with a new function room, bar, kitchen and accessible toilets.

Construction should be finished on the pavilion ahead of the start of the North Lancs and Cumbria League season in April.

Rob Cairns, ex-chairman of Barrow Community Trust, said: “We are delighted to be able to assist Lindal Moor Cricket Club in building a new pavilion, which will undoubtedly be an excellent facility.

“The club is one of several excellent cricket clubs within the borough of Barrow-in-Furness. Being a great supporter of local cricket, I very much look forward to visiting the new pavilion and watching an exciting game being played.”

Jonathan Lee, North-West Evening Mail managing director, added: “Clubs like this are the lifeblood of our communities.

“They play a vital role as a hub for people of all ages to enjoy sport and socialising.

“The new clubhouse is already taking shape and promises to be a superb asset for all who enjoy cricket and events at the club.

“The North-West Evening Mail Charitable Trust is delighted to support such an exciting and important project.”

The recent donations will help ensure all the necessary funding for the £270,000 project has been obtained – following major grants from the EBC (£85,000, plus a £20,000 loan), Sport England’s Inspirational Facilities (£75,000) and WREN – who distribute funds from taxes on landfill sites, such as Bennett Bank, to good causes – (£48,000) to go towards the work.

There were also donations from the Baywind Community Fund (£5,000), HB Clark (£6,500), the Cumbria Foundation (£5,000), the Sir John Fisher Foundation (£6,000), the Francis Scott Trust (£4,000) and Cumbria County Council’s Barrow Neighbourhood Forum (£3,000).

Added to that, close to £20,000 has been raised by the club through other initiatives.