Handsworth Cricket clubs in row over drink licence
A bitter row has surfaced between two city cricket teams who share the same council-owned pitch in Handsworth.
The revelations of the ungentlemanly rift came to light between Handsworth Cricket Club (HCC) and Handsworth Cavaliers Cricket Club (HCCC), who share a pitch in Handsworth Park, off Hinstock Road.
Handsworth Cricket Club opposed an alcohol licence application from the Cavaliers, even though they hold one in the same pavilion.
The council licensing committee granted the Cavaliers a licence yesterday, despite fierce opposition from their pitch-sharers.
The club will be able to serve alcohol in the pavilion, but only on the Sundays when they have exclusive use of the venue. HCC agreed that it won’t sell alcohol on those days.
It was claimed during the hearing that no one has had to pay any rent, pitch fees or upkeep towards the “enormous” running costs of the facility, which was built by the council in the 1980s.
Committee chairman Coun Penny Wagg (Lib Dem, Acocks Green) said: “The costs are enormous to the council and I am quite surprised that both clubs seem to pay nothing.”
