Lord's 'Masterplan' approved but residential scheme rejected
Wednesday 27 September 2017 22:12, UK
Lord's is set for the largest single development in its 203-year history but plans for a residential complex within the ground have been emphatically rejected.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the club's updated 'Masterplan', in which the Compton and Edrich stands will be replaced as part of a £194m programme to be completed by 2032.
But an alternative proposal would have incorporated two 10-storey blocks of flats adjacent to the Nursery Ground.
MCC members instead approved the 'Masterplan' - funded by its own resources - by a 90.5 per cent majority at a special general meeting on Wednesday night.
MCC chairman Gerald Corbett said: "This is a landmark day for MCC and for the future of Lord's.
"MCC members have made their feelings abundantly clear - they do not want blocks of flats to be built at their ground.
"And they have backed the committee's recommendation to pursue the updated Masterplan.
"The alternative to the Masterplan would have been a bad deal for the club commercially and a bad deal for the architectural atmosphere and ambience of Lord's."
Design and project work for the new stands, to be built between 2019 and 2021, will begin immediately.
The new structures will sit underneath and either side of the media centre, and increase the capacity from 30,000 to at least 32,000.
As well as being the owner of Lord's, the MCC is also known as guardian of the laws and spirit of the sport.
It was founded in 1787 and has been based at Lord's since the ground's opening in 1814.
MCC President Matthew Fleming said: "I would like to thank the club's members for their contribution to the redevelopment debate at Lord's. It is a complicated issue that has dominated much of the club's focus in recent times.
"After listening to independent experts, analysis from the club's principal committees, and feedback from members during the consultation, it became clear to the Committee that the MCC Updated Masterplan offers the only solution which retains the unique character of both the main ground and the Nursery Ground at Lord's, while ensuring its development will be of world-class standard for our visitors to enjoy."
