Marcus Trescothick reopens Westlands Cricket and Bowls Pavilion

Released On 11th Jun 2018

Current Somerset County and former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick officially reopened the new Bowls and Cricket pavilion at the Westlands site in Yeovil on Sunday (3 June 2018).

The grand opening was attended by members of the bowls and cricket clubs, officials and council members from South Somerset District Council, with Marcus cutting the ribbon to officially reopen the new building.

The pavilion has been fully operational since August 2017 but a decision was taken to wait until the start of the new cricket season to officially open the building.

The building includes a large social area with a bar, kitchen and toilets, changing facilities for two bowls team and two cricket teams and also a separate umpires changing room.

Councillor Sylvia Seal, Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Culture at South Somerset District Council said, "It's fantastic that we can get such a high calibre cricketer such as Marcus Trescothick to come and officially reopen the venue. When the District Council very first thought about taking over the lease for the Westlands site, it was clubs such as the cricket and bowls clubs whose futures were in danger and it's great to now see them thriving with new facilities for them to utilise".

The old pavilion was condemned inadequate for the future needs of the bowls and cricket clubs situated at the site. Funding from South Somerset District Council, Sport England and England Cricket Board (ECB) enabled the new pavilion to be built on the site of the former building.

A newly formed charity called Yeovil Community Sports and Recreation Organisation has been set up to take responsibility for the pavilion on behalf of the bowls and cricket clubs.

The project to build a new pavilion for Yeovil Cricket Club and Westlands Bowls Club was managed and delivered by South Somerset District Council following the takeover of the site from Leonardo Helicopters in May 2016.

The open day also included cricket and bowls action all day with a licensed bar and barbeque for those attending.

Above: Marcus Trescothick officially opens the new Bowls and Cricket pavilion at the Westlands site in Yeovil