A historic cricket club at Bushy Park has unveiled plans to replace vital facilities destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club (HWRCC), founded in 1863, wants to rebuild its pavilion with improved facilities that it has ‘much needed’ over the years.

The decision came after the club was left without changing rooms, showers and toilets when the old pavilion burned down in a suspected arson attack in the early hours of the morning of 7 September. It had stood there since 1989, after the club’s original pavilion burned down in 1901 and its replacement in 1988.

The pavilion of Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club before it burned (photo: Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club).

The club has now submitted plans to Richmond Council to rebuild the pavilion with better and more accessible facilities, while erecting temporary facilities to enable it to continue operating while it waits for the council to make a decision on the proposals.

The new pavilion will feature four changing rooms, with separate facilities for female players and guests, a club room, bar, catering facilities, storage and, for the first time, facilities for the disabled. It will also be designed to deter vandalism and antisocial behaviour.

HWRCC member Jack Le Feuvre previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the suspected arson attack had hit ‘not just those directly involved with the cricket club but those in the wider club community and indeed those in the Hampton Wick local area very hard because the club has stood on the same site for … 160 years’. He added that the club had received an ‘incredible amount of support’ since the fire.

Emergency services respond to a fire at Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club on September 7, 2023 (source: Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club).

A report submitted with the application also said the club had endured a “catastrophic year” since the incident. It is expecting an insurance payout to help with costs but is continuing to fundraise and hold charity events to ensure it has all the cash it needs to fund its plans.

The report added: “The new facility will fill a facilities gap that the club has urgently needed for many years and will re-establish the club’s base for the local community.”

Image of the aftermath of the suspected arson attack at Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club (source: Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club).

The club is also home to Harlequins Amateurs Rugby Club, Bedfont Sports FC, Kingston College Football Academy and other community groups.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman previously said they believed the fire was caused by arson but had not identified any suspects after investigating the incident.

Richmond Council will make a decision on the application in due course.

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