Durham Cricket Club new stand injects £1.29m into the region

May 8 2009 by Rob Pattinson, The Journal

CONSTRUCTION of a new North East cricket stand is injecting more than £1.29m straight back into the region’s economy.

A breakdown of contractors and suppliers for the development at Durham County Cricket Club’s Riverside ground, shows more than 80% of the club’s £1.6m budget has gone straight to local firms.

Everything from joinery and plastering, handrails, facing bricks, paving bollards, timber, and plastic draining has been sourced from the North East.

The new stand, set to be open in time for next week’s test match with the West Indies, will increase the permanent crowd capacity to 10,000.

It is part of a larger scheme, due to increase the total capacity to 20,000 by 2011. The hope is when construction is complete cricket supporters will be able to take pride in the range and quality of building materials and skills readily available in the region. The local buying has been pioneered by Lumsden & Carroll Construction, the design & build and civil engineering arm of Esh Group, responsible for delivery of the new stand. It is an example of the Durham-based Group’s regional procurement strategy.

Durham County chief executive David Harker said: “We think it’s fantastic so many local firms have been involved. In many ways this is a community facility, so to benefit the region at all stages, including the construction is excellent.

“Clearly we are required to go through procurement procedures, but to see so many firms beating national and international competition to secure this work is good to see. I think supporters will appreciate sitting in a stand which has been ‘made in the North East’.”