A CRICKET club that has played in Witney for nearly 100 years says it feels unwanted by the town council

Witney Swifts marked their annual President’s Day on Sunday, a fundraiser on The Leys to collect funds for organisations in the area.

The club said it was unable to have a barbecue or bouncy castle at the event as a result of payments requested by landowner Witney Town Council.

To the club, founded in 1922, the issue is just one in a string of problems with the council that, over the past few years, has seen a loss of parking spaces, a reduction in the playing area and the loss of some of the facilities at the building used as a pavilion.

Town councillor Suzanne Bartington said The Leys, where the club plays, has become increasingly popular over the years and that the council must work in the best interests of all users of the ground.

Gordon Clack, president of the Swifts, said: “I’m sure everything points to them not wanting us to be there.

“We’ve had our pavilion taken away. They took away the parking. They reduced the playing area. We have the worst ground and the worst changing rooms in the league.

“I think they ought to look again at what the plaque on the ground says. It says The Leys was purchased after the First World War for the recreational use of people in Witney.”

One of the major issues the cricket club has is the building it refers to as the pavilion.

Previously, the club made use of the building on match days to make teas, a privilege the club now longer has since the Coffee Shed began operating in the council-owned building.

After this blow, the cricket club was informed that members could no longer park on The Leys itself. As well as causing issues among the Swifts, the change means the team has the embarrassing task of telling visiting teams they have to do their best to find their own parking in the town.

Dr Bartington said that the issue was about balance.

She said: “We want to work with all of the sports clubs in the town.

“The Leys has become a much bigger area since opening the splash park in 2015. There’s a much higher footfall.”

She said the council stopped the players from parking on the grass of The Leys because of the number of pedestrians on the ground, including young children. The council offered the club an alternative, which she said the club turned down.

She added: “We would like to work with them but we need to get it right for everyone.”

The Swifts are currently at the top of Division 2 of the Oxfordshire Cricket Association League.