We are pleased to announce that the Old Cranleighan Society has completed the purchase of the ten-acre Weston Green Sports Club (WGSC) which adjoins the OC Club at Thames Ditton.
WGSC has been leased by the OCS since 2017 when the previous operator retired and earlier this year the long-term operator, EDF, advised us they would be selling the land.
WGSC, which was opened shortly after the OC Club in 1930, was for many years the corporate sports ground for the South Eastern Electricity Board and then their successor Seeboard. In its heyday it boasted football, rugby and cricket pitches as well as tennis courts. With the general demise of company sports in the 1980s the grounds were leased out to a succession of private operators and until 2017 hosted only football.
The rapid expansion in the past decade of the OCRFC and then OCHC junior sections meant more land was required and the leasing of WGSC eased the pressure on the main club. The purchase will enable us to continue with this expansion. It is also hoped that facilities for other OC sports, such as football and netball, can be provided.
“When our predecessors bought the land on which the OC Club now stands it was seen at the time as being a huge risk, but generations of OCs and the local community have benefitted from their vision,” OC chairman Martin Williamson said. “We hope that this acquisition will enable the OC Club to continue to expand and play an important role for both Old Cranleighans and those who live in the neighbourhood.”
The purchase will double the size of the OC Club’s footprint and give us around 18 acres of sports fields. We currently have one all-weather pitch and two grass pitches, but we will have an additional four grass pitches as well as markedly more parking and another clubhouse.