Work on a new £34,000 multi-sports area for village youngsters will not start until the summer because of ongoing negotiations between council officials and school governors.
Builders were expected to start working on the site in the grounds of Bomere Heath Primary School this month after the Big Lottery Fund provided £200,000 for the project and a similar facility at Shrewsbury Sports Village last July.
But due to the site being on school land, borough council officials have been in dialogue with school governors and the landowners, the Diocese of Lichfield, to reach an agreement on the facilities.
As a result planning permission has not yet been applied for and council officer Mike Cox said the work would not start until summer. The multi-sports court will include goalposts and basketball nets and is the brainchild of local borough councillor Brian Rees.
Last year the borough council’s community regeneration manager Steve Cunningham said the scheme was expected to start in February. Mr Cox, SABC’s recreation and development manager, said: “The trustees and governors both need to be happy with what we’re putting forward before we try to get planning approval.
“There are also issues behind who will be responsible for running and maintaining the facility and we are in the process of drawing up a management agreement.
The planning process takes at least six weeks, and it will be the summer before any work starts on the site.” Councillor Rees said: “It will be a dual-use facility for the school and the community.”
A spokesperson for Bomere Heath Primary School said she was unable to comment on the plans.