Threat to club's new stadium plan

Planners have said there is not enough space for 98 homes on the ground

Worcester City's plans to move to a new ground have been hit by safety fears over a planned housing development at its current stadium.

City planners have recommended rejection of proposals to build 98 homes at the St George's Lane ground.

They cited poor parking provision and a lack of space between the properties.

The Conference South club was planning to use the money from the sale of the ground to build a new stadium on the outskirts of Worcester at Nunnery Way.

A final decision will be made on 13 August.

Club vice-chairman Jim Panter told BBC Hereford and Worcester the club still intended to redevelop St George's Lane.

"Clearly we'd like to get things moving forward and get planning approved on the site," he said.

Setback

"The expectation was that we could move to a reasonable ground with no debt, so clearly it does cause us difficulty in this plan.

"We need to meet with the various development partners we have and consider how we might move things forward, because there are many options on a similar theme."

Panter said the prospect of City's £2m debts increasing because of the setback would become clearer over the course of the forthcoming season.

"It depends on the operating position of the club and whether we continue to lose money, or whether we can start to generate some positive cash from St George's Lane," he added.

Manager Richard Dryden said the club's management and players were keeping their focus on events on the field.

"We're trying to stay away from everything as a team," he said.

"There are new players in and it's easy to get dragged into stuff off the pitch whatever club you're at, not just our club.

"There are a lot of clubs who have problems outside the pitch and we're coming in, we're training hard, getting prepared and trying to stay focused on the football."