D-day for MCC over £75m plan

The MCC committee will meet at Lord’s next week to decide whether to accept a £75million proposal to build apartments at the Nursery End.

Chief executive Derek Brewer has held discussions with property developers Rifkind-Levy and will present his findings on Wednesday.

At the MCC’s annual meeting, Brewer unveiled plans for a £200m ground redevelopment which he hopes would take 15 years to complete. Were the £75m deal agreed, it would put the club in a better position to fund the work.

Earlier this month, the MCC rejected a £100m offer from Rifkind-Levy to construct a residential development at the Nursery End as they believed it would reduce space for the cricket ground to expand, as well as for broadcast companies. The £75m deal is a watered down version of that plan.

The rejection of the £100m deal was opposed by the MCC Reform Group, a group of MCC members who believe the club need to seal a tie-up with a property company in order to secure their financial future. The redevelopment of Lord’s, and the differing opinions about how to proceed with it, has proved one of the most divisive issues in the 226-year history of the MCC.

Brewer said: “I made the point in the meeting that the level of acrimony is really unhelpful. I’ve spent a lot of my last year looking into the rear-view mirror.”