Lancashire in court battle.

A high court challenge has been set for the Old Trafford upgrade, to be February 28th.

The Lancashire CC has already spent $1.5m in set-up costs and the delay in the development is only going to add more this already growing bill. The club said it could lose £5m funding from the North West Regional Development Agency, if the legal action was not cleared by April 2011.

The upgrade was set to be complete in time for the 2013 Ashes Series, and would involve a revamping of stands, new pitches and the pavilion. Lancashire CC has already had a loss of £2m in grants due to the delay.

This is further evidence of the Cricket Observers recent article regarding County clubs over spending on stadia and conference facilities, rather than putting the money into the cricket department themselves.

Derwent Holdings, challenged the original planning permission after Trafford Council rejected Derwent's application for a smaller Sainsbury's store at White City on the grounds that it would impact on trade.

However, Derwent have argued that the council gave permission close by for a Tesco's store, a development which is part of the Lancashire CCC plans.The plans were called in by Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles for review, who sent them back to Trafford Council which approved the proposals in September.


Derwent Holdings Ltd is one of several companies set up by the Kwik Save founder Albert Gubay.