Hitchin Cricket Club and Blueharts Hockey Club Hitchin, Hertfordshire By:Saunders Architects Saunders were selected as architects for the design and delivery of a new sports facility for cricket and hockey clubs in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. The scheme includes a new clubhouse building, all weather pitch, cricket nets, scorebox, and parking. The original clubhouse was a converted pre-war isolation hospital, relocated in the 1940s. It was in a state of disrepair and was no longer appropriate for the volume and diversity of sport provided by the clubs. The new facilities firmly secure the future of this community sporting centre and sports ground, which was established in 1866. Plans to redevelop the existing facilities began in 2000 and, as the clubs had no benefactors, it was necessary to look into alternative ways of funding the scheme. The original outline planning  application, submitted in January 2015, set the principles for the design of the development and established a consent for an enabling residential development on the site to fund the project. On appointment, Saunders reviewed the scheme in discussion with the multiple end users. The challenge was to deliver a scheme which addressed the requirements of a diverse group of stakeholders. The client brief … Continue reading Hitchin Cricket & Hockey Club