FANS will now be able to watch as cricket stars make their way to the pitch from the dressing rooms at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton.

A new 3.5-tonne steel staircase has been installed from the first-floor balcony of the Andy Caddick Pavilion, giving fans a look at the players as they make their way to the field.

The full walk to the pitch for new batters, or the fielding side, is a mainstay at grounds around the world – and will now be a feature in Taunton, home of Somerset County Cricket Club as well as being a venue for other high-profile games.

The project was led by LED Architects and structural engineer Philip Derben, who designed the new Players’ Staircase, which was fabricated and installed by Ilminster steel and stainless steel firm, Denton-Powell.

“We enjoy delivering projects that make an impact,” said Joe Champion, director of Denton-Powell.

The view cricketers will enjoy as they make their way on to the pitch at Taunton…

Production manager at the firm, Joe Taylor-Davies, added: “This design was quite unusual, fabricated in three fully-welded sections ready to be assembled on site.

“The entire structure was made from mild steel with a galvanised and white powder coated finish. It also featured a bespoke rolled steel section for the half-landing, with a fully welded stainless steel curved balustrading with the final connections welded on site.

“The entire fabrication process from start to finish took three weeks to complete.”

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Designer, Lucas Pimm, said: “These projects are always exciting; they allow us to devise creative design solutions to challenging problems while in-keeping with the architects vision and maintaining a solid structure by liaising closely with the structural engineer.

“We thrive on such designs which create a lasting impact while focusing on creating efficiencies when it comes to buildability.”

For more on Denton-Powell, email sales@denton.powell.co.uk or call 01460 242114.

Denton-Powell, in Ilton, worked on the new Players’ Staircase