Price increases for using the sports and pavilion facilities at the Recreation Ground will come into force next month. A lot of hire costs will remain the same, but there will be increases for a few facilities. The new prices apply to public hire arrangements only, with fees for clubs calculated separately.
The steepest increase in public hire fees will be for the cricket pitches, which go up from £75 to £120 per match on the 1st square and to £100 on the 2nd square.
The Parish Council, which sets the hire fees, says the increases have been made “to reflect the superior quality of Pitch 1” and that the new charges reflect those applied for cricket pitches elsewhere around Cambridge. The fact that a “cricket game lasts longer than football” is also factored into the pricing structure.
Cllr Joseph Uttridge commented that these charge rises would be acceptable as long as the quality of the pitches is maintained.
Other increases
Football, bowls and tennis hire by the public will also see increases, but by lower amounts. The cost of hiring a pitch for a football match will rise from £69 to £70 and the hourly fee for hire of the bowling green will rise from £9 to £15.
Use of the hard and grass courts for tennis will go from £9 to £10 an hour, or £13 to £14 with floodlights on a hard court. But fees for using the hard court for netball will remain the same. The new prices are broadly in line with Orchard Park, where the tennis courts cost £10, and the price of a court for netball is £20. Slight discounts are available for residents and block bookings.
Commercial hire of the H&I Rec for activities such as training courses will remain at £13 per hour, though use of the changing rooms will rise from £13 to £16.
Club fees
With the exception of the bowls club, all the village sports clubs using the Rec will see price increase too. These will range from £8.25 for the croquet club to £938 for the tennis club.
The increase to the cricket club will be £504, while Histon Hornets will see a £439 rise.
Tennis representative Jane Fidler commented that the tennis club was “surprised” by the 12.4% increase, and a meeting with the club was due to discuss the fee in more detail.
For full details of the charges for and availability of Recreation Ground facilities hire, see the Parish Council website.
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