Lord Morris warns Edgbaston Test status is on the line
May 5 2009 by James Cartledge, Birmingham Mail
FORMER union leader Lord Bill Morris has thrown his weight behind a proposed £32 million refurbishment of Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s Edgbaston ground.
Lord Morris of Handsworth, who chairs an England and Wales Cricket Board committee responsible for recommending venues for test matches, said Edgbaston needed “significant modernisation” because it had fallen short of the standard required.
His comments backed the club’s insistence that Birmingham may lose Test matches and one-day internationals if ground improvements do not go ahead.
But the refurbishment scheme – new stands, pavilion, media centre, hospitality suites, permanent floodlighting and a housing and hotel development – has angered residents’ groups who claim the scheme is too big and will make noise and traffic problems worse.
Birmingham council planning committee has refused to grant permission for the makeover, urging the club to scale down the scheme.
Members are expected to reconsider the matter next month after the club reduced the overall scale of proposed development by about 10 per cent.
Birmingham-born Lord Morris said: “Historically Edgbaston has been an integral part of the global cricket community, having hosted many iconic test matches, which will live in the memory of so many for years to come.
