In 1951, Wilstone Parish Council received complaints that cricket balls from the recreation ground were causing damage by landing on bungalow roofs during Sunday Morning cricket matches. A meeting of the council was held on the Wilstone School Room on 15th September, chaired by Councillor Mr H Stansfield, to discuss the complaints.
The rather radical proposal to solve the problem, put forward by the six complaining villagers, was to build Council Houses on the land! They complained that people playing on the ground were a nuisance, the ground was not large enough for games and too wet for any kind of children’s playground.
The demand of these killjoys was rejected. The meeting did however discuss both issues and started the ball rolling towards two eventual developments. First, money was raised to build a high chain link fence around the bungalows. And the debate around new housing eventually led to the purchase of the land which is now covered by the Grange Road Estate.
Sad to say however, the Sunday Morning cricket which had caused the complaint died a natural death soon after. And it was 18 years later, in 1969, before the houses were built.
Source: History of Wilstone by Dick Gomm.
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