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One of the railway tunnels underneath Lord’s |
Tunnels probe at Lord’s extended
Bid for underground cricket complex
PLANS to redevelop the maze of railway tunnels that run beneath Lord’s cricket ground have been extended to include the excavation of the whole site.
Following a fresh survey by engineers at the St John’s Wood ground, owners the MCC now believe there is potential to dig deeper then they had originally planned, opening up the possibility of building an enlarged cricket academy, a research laboratory, kitchens, a health and fitness club, a sports injury clinic and improved facilities for staff.
The Lord’s museum, which was expected to be to be moved to St John’s Wood Road, will be three times the current size, and will also be housed underground.
The total cost of the project, originally forecast at £200million, is expected to run to £400m and take more than 10 years to complete.
If proposals are approved by the MCC committee, an application is expected to be submitted to planning chiefs at Westminster City Council by the end of the year.
Engineers are only part way through their survey but they hope to create several subterranean tiers up to 30 feet below ground, which could also see neighbouring Wellington Hospital using part of the site.
At the moment the 40,000 sq ft tunnel network beneath the famous nursery end of the ground can only be accessed by way of a fire escape from the hospital.
David Batts, assistant secretary of the MCC, who is overseeing the masterplan, said: “This is work in progress, but we would like the new indoor school to be 30 per cent bigger than the existing one and at least as good, if not better than those at Loughborough and Dubai. This will make Lord’s a better place for cricketers.”
The question over what to do with the disused Victorian railway tunnels, owned by Rifkind Levy Partnership, has perplexed the MCC ever since they became a development opportunity when the lease changed hands last year. At one stage there was a plan to create a railway station so fans would be able to enter the ground directly rather than walk from St John’s Wood.
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