黑洞社区

The home of cricket is to come up with new plans for developing the club and its facilities following controversy about earlier proposals for new residential schemes connected to its prestigious St John鈥檚 Wood home.

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) decided not to even put residential development proposals for its leasehold land to the vote at this week鈥檚 annual general meeting.

Instead, its committee said members would be presented with 鈥渁 holistic masterplan鈥� to be drawn up by the club鈥檚 ground working party.

Club president Phillip Hodson said the strength of feeling surrounding residential development at the ground had made it unnecessary to table a resolution on the topic and that the working party would have a free hand to develop the new plan.

鈥淢CC needs to look to the future,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 want Derek Brewer our new chief executive and Colin Maber, who worked so well together developing Trent Bridge, to produce a development plan dove-tailing with the club鈥檚 strategic plan,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 have total confidence in the ground working party because it has already done a substantial amount of valuable work. It has a good and equal balance of talents - two from estates, two from finance and four from the executive, and has already done considerable work to look at the club鈥檚 options.鈥�

MCC chairman Oliver Stocken said the need to ensure Lord鈥檚 remained 鈥渢he very best place to play and watch the game鈥� would be 鈥渃entral鈥� to any masterplan.