Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that funding provided for The Dome in Farrington will affect wider Lancashire.

The indoor cricket dome in Farington will form part of a new high-quality professional and community cricket facility which benefits the local area and offers the opportunity to connect elite cricket with grassroots cricket, expanding opportunities for players in Lancashire.

As home to the Lancashire Women’s first team and Lancashire Disability team, the facility will become a Women’s Centre of Excellence for the North-West of England, as well as a hub for disability cricket, meaning increased access for more players to participate. The facility will help the Lancashire Cricket Foundation to deliver a number of their nationwide cricket programmes such as All Stars Cricket and the Dynamos Cricket programmes for young people and Super 1s programme for young people with a disability. The all-weather nature of the facility means more playing opportunities are available all year round.

Work with the England and Wales Cricket Board is ongoing to monitor the impact and effectiveness of these sites and we’re keen that they benefit as wide a local area as possible.