THE Hampshire League cricket club using Bournemouth's historic Dean Park ground has announced it will not play there this season due to rising costs.
Parley have been in talks with landowner Park School about leasing the site for County Division 3 (South) and Dorset Premier League matches, in exchange for the club carrying out ongoing maintenance on the pitch and redeveloping the Grade II listed pavilion.
However, chairman Graham Stickland said the independent school's decision to lease the pavilion to a nursery, as well as concern over future charges, had forced the club to back out of the negotiations.
"I think cricket will stop there forthwith," he said.
"We are disappointed, for Bournemouth and for local cricket, but Park School own it and have their plans and what more can one say."
He said that with the nursery in situ the ground would be unavailable for cricket during the week for safety reasons, and as such the club would find it impossible to obtain grant support from the England Cricket Board or Heritage Lottery Fund, or other potential investors.
"No benefactor is going to put money into a facility a private school benefits from which the community is only using at the weekend," he said.
The ground, which has been used for cricket since 1869, was bought by Park School from Cooper Dean Estates in 2014 and is run as Dean Park Cricket Ltd.
Years ago, it was the home of the traditional Bournemouth Cricket Festival – Hampshire winning their first County Championship title there in 1961.
Although the school ultimately offered the club the use of the ground rent free, Mr Stickland said the club feared future costs would be introduced.
In a statement, the directors of Dean Park Cricket Ltd said the site was "too expensive to maintain and run" to operate solely for cricket.
They said: "Since purchasing the site in December 2014 the new owners of Dean Park have worked to ensure that cricket is played there each summer.
"Last season Dorset Minor County used the facility. We had hoped that Parley Cricket Club, together with others, would use it this season and in future. However, despite being offered the cricket ground rent-free, they have made the decision not to use it.
"When we bought Dean Park our hopes were to preserve the site and to give Park School a large area of grass and pitches where pupils can play sport.
Parley have been in talks with landowner Park School about leasing the site for County Division 3 (South) and Dorset Premier League matches, in exchange for the club carrying out ongoing maintenance on the pitch and redeveloping the Grade II listed pavilion.
However, chairman Graham Stickland said the independent school's decision to lease the pavilion to a nursery, as well as concern over future charges, had forced the club to back out of the negotiations.
"I think cricket will stop there forthwith," he said.
"We are disappointed, for Bournemouth and for local cricket, but Park School own it and have their plans and what more can one say."
He said that with the nursery in situ the ground would be unavailable for cricket during the week for safety reasons, and as such the club would find it impossible to obtain grant support from the England Cricket Board or Heritage Lottery Fund, or other potential investors.
"No benefactor is going to put money into a facility a private school benefits from which the community is only using at the weekend," he said.
The ground, which has been used for cricket since 1869, was bought by Park School from Cooper Dean Estates in 2014 and is run as Dean Park Cricket Ltd.
Years ago, it was the home of the traditional Bournemouth Cricket Festival – Hampshire winning their first County Championship title there in 1961.
Although the school ultimately offered the club the use of the ground rent free, Mr Stickland said the club feared future costs would be introduced.
In a statement, the directors of Dean Park Cricket Ltd said the site was "too expensive to maintain and run" to operate solely for cricket.
They said: "Since purchasing the site in December 2014 the new owners of Dean Park have worked to ensure that cricket is played there each summer.
"Last season Dorset Minor County used the facility. We had hoped that Parley Cricket Club, together with others, would use it this season and in future. However, despite being offered the cricket ground rent-free, they have made the decision not to use it.
"When we bought Dean Park our hopes were to preserve the site and to give Park School a large area of grass and pitches where pupils can play sport.
