A GROWING village cricket club on the county border is seeking planning permission for a second pitch that it has already been using for nearly four years.

Aston Ingham Cricket Club, near Newent, has applied to Herefordshire Council for retrospective permission (number 233666) for its Mill Meadow pitch south of Mill Lane, which it says has been in use since early 2020.

A white shipping container is already stationed at the pitch for equipment storage, while an area to the north of the pitch is used for parking on match days.

With a fourth XI and ladies’ softball cricket teams formed in 2022, “the number of teams the club needs to cater for makes it impossible to only be based on one pitch and therefore the club need the second pitch”, a statement with the application says.

“No other local clubs are able to put out four Saturday league teams each weekend, and even the larger towns such as Ross-on-Wye are only able to put two teams out each weekend,” it adds.

The club also boasts five junior cricket sides in four age categories.

The Stockings site across the road already hosts the main clubhouse and pitch as well as tennis courts and club building.

Comments on the planning application can be made until February 1.