ECB Grass Pitch Improvement Fund

ECB UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2026

The Grass Pitch Improvement Fund was closed for applications in September 2025 due to the fund being fully allocated.

The ECB have announced that the fund is reopening for a short window between Sept and November 2026:

Update from ECB:

The Grass Pitch Improvement Fund, supported by Sport England and the National Lottery, will reopen for Expressions of Interest from 28 September to 30 November 2026.

The scheme will be open to all eligible applicants, not just Recreational Cricket Boards, as required under the ECB’s contract with Sport England.

As demand is expected to exceed the funding available, priority will be given to high-impact projects that can be contracted by 31 March 2027 and delivered during 2027, particularly multi-site and local authority projects.

Expressions of Interest will be assessed against:

• the GPIF eligibility criteria;
• the ECB’s commitments to Sport England;
• the likely impact of the project; and
• the proposed delivery timetable.

ORIGINAL CONTENT - AUGUST 2024

The ECB have today launched the new Grass Pitch Improvement Fund. The fund will invest £5m of National Lottery funding over a three year period and has been launched to help cricket tackle inequalities around access to safe, good quality grass pitches across England and Wales.

The fund is aimed at supporting the improvement of unsafe or inadequate pitches which need investment to support:

• Woman's and Girls' cricket
• Cricket in diverse communities
• Disability cricket
• Cricket in lower socio-economic areas

For more detailed information on the fund, including the eligibility of projects, the investment areas, project identification, the application process and much more then please read the GPIF guidance notes via the link below.

After reading the guidance notes above, if any venues feel they are eligible and would like to organise for the visit of a site to take place for a PitchPower Pro report to be produced, then please email cpa@dorsetcricketboard.co.uk to state your interest