Cricket club officials are running a campaign to try and stop the development

Members of the Hoover cricket club say the plans by Merthyr Tydfil council would include an access road across part of their ground.

It is part of a scheme to serve nearby Pentrebach railway station.

Merthyr council said it will take another look at the proposals, while Hoover itself said it would oppose any plans.

Ron Walton, club chairman, said that the first time they knew anything about the plans was when council officials came to mark out the area affected.

"We knew nothing about it and all of a sudden there were some people pegging out the area that was going to be used. We couldn't believe it," he said.

"If it goes ahead, this cricket club would just collapse because we just won't have enough space to play.

"It is awful because there has been a club here for 52 years and we serve a huge community.

"We have got five youth teams and two senior teams and the ground is used every night," he said.

A section of the cricket pitch has been earmarked for the scheme

The cricket club said they had not been told about the plans because they do not own the land affected.

"Hoover let us play here for free but because we don't own the land, we weren't consulted," said Mr Walton.

"If we had been, we could have shown the planners how much we are going to be affected by this.

"They will be taking 30 metres of the outfield for this scheme which means the end of the club," he said.

Permission for the scheme was granted some weeks ago but cricket officials hope that a campaign they are running will stop the work from going ahead.

The cricket club was set up as part of a recreation ground for 2,000 workers after Hoover built its factory in 1948.

Glamorgan played three Sunday league matches in the late 1980s at the ground.

A council spokeswoman said that a site meeting was held recently with club officials.

She said: "It was agreed that the scheme design would be reviewed and should any amendment be feasible which could reduce the potential impact on the outfield then this would be considered."

The council said it was also agreed that the 'scheme' would be physically marked out on site so the effect can be fully appreciated.

The spokeswoman added: "The aim would be to accommodate concerns but should this not be possible then a full report would be taken to cabinet giving an accurate assessment of the situation so that an informed decision can be taken in respect of the compulsory purchase order."

David Lunt, of Hoover, said the company would oppose any plans by the council to compulsory purchase part of the ground.

"The company is very clear in that it has no interest in any of its land being used for a park and ride and it would object to that."

He also said Hoover had "nothing on the books" in terms of redeveloping the ground itself and it was happy for the cricket club to continue with the arrangement.