Message Board - Cricket: Damage outside of the ground..
20 Jul 2008 by Regi
We are a 100 year old cricket club in Yorkshire. Quite recently green fields around our boundaries have been replaced and with commercial and residential buildings.
The inevitable has now started to happen with complaints being received about cricket balls damaging property and vehicles.
Has anyone had similar experience and received any legal advice ?
20 Jul 2008 by Martyn Snell
yeh, we had a problem,but it was resolves as the cricket club was there orignally and they knew that when they bought the land
20 Jul 2008 by Rollerman2
Please contact Looe cricket club in Cornwall, they had a problem like this.You could contact them via the play cricket web site.
20 Jul 2008 by Rollerman2
Please contact Looe cricket club in Cornwall, they had a problem like this.You could contact them via the play cricket web site.
20 Jul 2008 by satchwell
Our club are going thro a similar process. We were advised that we have a duty of care to make reasonable precautions that no damage is done to neighbours person/ property.
It may be worth circulating neighbours to hold a meeting on the subject to get their views. Also worth contacting your local planning authority to get their views. If you do need to put up perimeter netting they may need to be involved for planning permission, grants etc.
Our pesonnel experience was that the majority of neighbours did not want netting and were prepared to put up with balls entering their property. We now have isolated the problem to two neighbours and are hopeful we can resolve the issue by addressing their concerns.
21 Jul 2008 by Aladdin
This sort of thing makes me laugh. Our Football Club has been in it's present location since the 1940's that I know of. Houses have been built around it since, most recently at the turn of the century.
It's not invisible!! People can see for themselves that it's there.
So why, oh why, oh why do folk buy a house in close proximity to a football/cricket/sports Club and then complain about it?
My personal opinion is that if someone does that then they are accepting the risks.
No doubt the law and insurance companies will take a different view
From the posh end of the room!!
21 Jul 2008 by Aintgottaclue!!
there is a law to cover this it is the law of 'taut' or something like that, we used to refer to it alot where i used to work.
I may cut grass, but i'm not green !!
21 Jul 2008 by mario Last edited 21 Jul 2008
Hi Aintgotta'
The law you are referring to is Tort Law. Covers negligence, duty of care etc.
It also covers what constitutes intentional acts and injuries.
I know no boundaries.
22 Jul 2008 by vid Last edited 22 Jul 2008
In my experience, if clubs are the original occupier of the land then anyone building or buying a house adjacent to the ground is expected to know that cricket/football etc is played on it. The club is not normally duty bound by law to protect these neighbours from normal play. However should damage occur then the club would be responsible for repair, so adequate insurance needs to be in place. It is normally this coverage that makes problems as some insurers may insist on erecting protective netting in order to reduce their risk.
My advice would be not to provide any protection to your neighbours at all, but offer them access if they should want to erect a net etc. Once you provide any protection or financial assistance you will prove a precident and will probably be required to provide it in perpetuity.
The Law really seems to change from place to place - keep your neighbours on-side be as helpful and cooperative as you can possibly be, but give nothing away unless forced to by a court of law, or if you are unable to obtain insurance cover without compromising.
If you require legal help make absolutely sure that whoever gets the brief is experienced in boundary/sportsfield actions or you are likely to lose out. Enquire here at pitchcare or perhaps the IOG or the FSB (federation of small businesses) they will all try to help you.
9 Aug 2008 by David Holliday
I represented our cricket club in court last year defending a claim made by an individual whose property is adjacent to our village cricket pitch. Although we were there first, we lost the case, because we could not demonstrate that we had taken reasonable care to prevent cricket balls from causing damage to his property. We were told that if more than the occasional ball went into his property (less than one a season) then we had not taken reasonable care and we (or our insurance company) was liable for any damage caused. Apparently there was a case several years ago (it may have been the Looe cricket club case mentioned in several e-mail responses) which went to the court of appeal, at which Lord Denning supported the view of the cricket club, but the other two judges did not.
We play on our village recereation ground. Last month the same neighbour took the playing field association to court for a similar claim. A young lad had been kicking a football around on the ground that had gone into our neighbour's garden and had caused damage to one of his cars. In this instance common sense prevalied and the claimant lost the case. The key difference was that the cricket involved an organised sport but the second incident did not.
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