Fauldhouse Cricket Club rises from the ashes in £370,000 refit

Nov 5 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

A CLUB has risen from the ashes after being destroyed in a blaze earlier this year.

The fire ripped through Fauldhouse Cricket Club in February causing massive damage to the building.

And firefighters spent over seven hours tackling the blaze at the club on Victoria Road.

The large hall at the back of the club was left burned out and expensive grass cutting equipment stored in the shed was destroyed along with cricket club equipment.

The fire marked the third piece of bad luck for the club.

The clubhouse had already een broken into twice on consecutive nights causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

But now the reborn club is set to reopen later this month after a refit which cost over £300,000 to complete

And the owner, Gerry Gallacher, is ready to welcome patrons as the club back to the premises as he makes a fresh start.

He said: “We are having an official reopening on Saturday, November 21 which we are really looking forward to.

“We have spent £370,000 on refurbishing the building after the blaze.

“People have already been inundating us with requests to book Christmas parties and events.

“We have new restaurant, bar and function area which will please the people who have been saying to us that they had nowhere to go while the place has been closed.”

Gerry said he was keen to invest in the club’s future because the cricket club is one of the oldest of its kind in Scotland with a great tradition which he intends to continue.

And he said the building is something of a landmark in the village.

Gerry added: “We have made sure that it has been refurbished to the highest standard and are looking forward to the opening.”