Councillors in south Wales expect to be picketed on Thursday as they discuss plans for a Welsh rugby academy.

Residents opposed to the development - which also includes housing and business units - will protest at the meeting at the council offices in Bridgend.

Protesters say the site is home to the threatened dormouse

Welsh Assembly members from all four parties have joined the growing opposition to the development which would be built on prime countryside.

The Welsh Rugby Union wants to build the National Rugby Academy along with a business park, hotel and 210 houses on a rural site south of the A48 at Bridgend.

But local people say it would cause problems for existing communities if extra housing is built.

Some have even got together to write a protest song. Opponents of the scheme have also claimed the site, at Island Farm, provides an important habitat for dormice.

However, new WRU Group Chief Executive David Moffett has said the game in Wales needs to focus on grassroots rugby.

Protesters claim council taxpayers will have to pay for road improvements, and the local comprehensive school says it is already oversubscribed.

Protests

Welsh Assembly Members from all four major parties have sided with the protesters.

Bridgend AM Carwyn Jones has objected to the plans, stressing that the area concerned was never intended for housing.

"There are substantial negatives about the development," he said.

"First of all, it includes housing - albeit low-density - and secondly it would involve introducing traffic onto a road that is already heavily congested."

The WRU wants to develop a team to grace the Millennium Stadium

But Bridgend council leader Jeff Jones has reacted angrily to the intervention by AMs.

He said: "We have assembly members so worried about the election next May, they will do anything.

"If you ask the silent majority, they would be in favour of this scheme.

"There's got to be a National Academy of Rugby in Wales somewhere.

"I would like it to be in Bridgend, because if there isn't one built then rugby as a sport in Wales is finished."

Extra money

In a statement, the WRU said it had decided on a mixed use plan for the Island Farm site, including housing, in order to raise extra money from developers.

The statement said: "The WRU has been looking to establish a rugby academy for some years now.

"The difficulty has always been shortage of money for the project.

"In Bridgend, we are fortunate to have found a supportive developer who will build us this centre.

Carwyn Jones:' Not meant for housing'

"Bridgend is an ideal location for our needs - being central for the mass of the population and with good road links.

"We have the best stadium in the world - if we want to develop the best team in the world to play there, a national rugby academy is an essential element to make that happen."

Welsh Minister for Planning, Environment and Transport, Sue Essex, has already had requests for the assembly to call in the planning application for further inspection.