Farington Cricket Ground completed as Lancashire Cricket takes control of new second home
BDP has celebrated the completion of Farington Cricket Ground as Lancashire Cricket formally takes control of the Club’s new second home near Preston.
Designed by BDP, with design work commencing in 2019, and developed in close partnership with Lancashire Cricket, Lancashire County Council and with guidance from the ECB, the new venue responds to the Club’s growing success at Emirates Old Trafford and the increasing need for additional capacity to host first-class cricket and nurture emerging talent across the men’s and women’s game.
Located on agricultural land between Lostock Hall and Leyland, the setting at Farington is a marked contrast to the urban character of the Clubs’s home ground at Old Trafford. BDP’s approach has been to minimise visual impact and preserve the open, rural character of the site, carefully embedding the new facilities within the landscape.
The ground features two cricket ovals, one for professional first-class cricket and one for development and community use, alongside a pavilion, outdoor practice nets and supporting infrastructure. While designed to operate day-to-day as a high-quality training base and community recreation hub, the venue can scale up to accommodate matchday events for up to 5,000 spectators.
Both pitches are oriented along a north–south axis and designed into the natural topography, creating informal, grassed spectator viewing bowls. The pavilion is positioned centrally between the two ovals to provide a sunlit, glare-free outlook across both grounds. Its two storeys are partially sunken into the landscape, naturally separating team and staff facilities at lower level from public entrances and viewing terraces above, while reducing the building’s apparent height within the Green Belt setting.
The pavilion’s triangular plan form addresses both pitches, with a gently sloping roof that cantilevers to provide passive shade and rises to form a distinctive prow welcoming visitors into a glazed function and social space.
The wider landscape has been sensitively sculpted to retain mature trees and hedgerows, supplemented by new drainage ditches, biodiverse grasslands and native planting, including more than 200 new trees. Together, these interventions create a naturally sheltered microclimate for cricket and deliver a ten per cent net gain in biodiversity.
Farington will operate as a Centre of Excellence for the North West, supporting the development of men’s, women’s and disability cricket. It will provide a dedicated base for the women’s and girls’ pathway, including ambitions for women’s international cricket in the north of England, while nurturing emerging talent across the wider game through partnerships with the ECB and Lancashire County Council. The facility has been designed to offer equal access to high-quality pitches, training environments and performance spaces, embedding opportunity across every level of the sport.
Lancashire Cricket will now continue preparations across the professional oval and pavilion, with the ambition of hosting two men’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup matches at Farington during the 2026 season. The ground is also expected to host women’s competitive fixtures and extensive pathway activity as the women’s game continues its rapid development.
BDP’s work at Farington is the latest chapter in a long-standing relationship with Lancashire Cricket, built over many years including the expansion of Emirates Old Trafford.
“Farington was conceived as a home for the whole game. It creates the capacity Lancashire Cricket needs to grow, while setting out a clear pathway from grassroots and development squads through to elite performance.
“Designing in such a sensitive landscape demanded restraint as well as ambition. By nestling the pitches into the natural site and sinking the pavilion into the ground, we’ve created a venue that feels rooted in its surroundings. Crucially, this is a centre of excellence for men’s, women’s and disability cricket alike. The shared infrastructure and equal quality of facilities send a clear message about the future of the sport in Lancashire. Seeing the Club now take control of the facility is very rewarding and we are excited about the new season of sport.”