22 June 2016


Totteridge-Millhillians have been playing cricket at their tree-ringed ground since 1928, the year as Totteridge CC they moved from the village common to a less prominent venue away from road traffic, but attempts to create a less sloping outfield to fit their Hertfordsire Premier League status were opposed at every turn until a recent council decision in their favour.

One would have thought the villagers would regard their cricket club as a local asset, because hundreds of children and adults use their field during the summer, with ex-Middlesex and England off-spinner John Emburey as coaching director. How wrong one would be, and this case might serve as a warning to other clubs in a similar situation.

Barnet Borough Council, owners of the freehold, agreed to modest landscaping and drainage plans only after  bitter opposition from a band of local residents under the banner of Totteridge Manor Association, the Totteridge Residents Association and  the Three Closes Group. The planning panel voted in favour of cricket after  hearing opposing arguments  that verged on nonsensical. The only person voting against was a member of the Totteridge Manor Association,  a councillor who declared his vested interest beforehand.

The Totteridge club were well aware that the steep slope from the square on one side detracted from the practicality of a very pretty ground. So a reasonable attempt to reduce the fall to Lord's proportion was pursued against vindictive opposition that made all sorts of claims at the final council meeting in Hendon Town Hall.

Fortunately for the  club the  "facts" claimed by opponents added little to their argument. Claims that the increased height of the ground would allow cricketers to see directly into the bedrooms of the three houses  from the outfield did not take into account a thick tree screen and a distance of about 50 yards. The outfield is not used in the winter. It was even claimed that the new outfield would leave the three houses vulnerable to crime as it would be easier to see whether the property would be occupied.

One objector brought a cricket ball into the meeting for dramatic effect to suggest the damage that could be done to people and roof tiles, even though the distance the ball would have to carry would be at least 100 yards.  That person's house was not affected.  A suggestion put to the meeting covered alternative lower levelling, but Totteridge-Millhillians pointed out that this would close the cricket club for two years. The panel gave weight to the point that people buying houses near a cricket club boundary should tolerate issues related to cricket, an observation made in past verdicts in courts of law.

Robbie Book, chairman of the CCC and a trustee member of Totteridge-Millhillians, hopes this case might help other clubs when faced with "less than gracious neighbours". He said: "It has taken 88 years for the cricketers of Totteridge and Mill Hill to be given the opportunity to have a level playing field - both physically and metaphorically.  Our amenity is the envy of other communities, and the new work will allow more young people to learn and play cricket.  It will enhance our Borough’s use of the wonderful facility which it deserves."