A PLAN to build a £2m community and sports centre in Marcham has gone back to the drawing board.

The Anson Trust, which would have run the facility, has now said it wants to build a community hub on a much more modest scale on its own land.

Trustee Colin Bough, 63, said: “There is a degree of urgency because of the state of our existing buildings and finances.

“It is important that we find a way forward in the very near future.”

The trust was hoping to sell half of the Anson Field which it owns in the centre of the village to Taylor Wimpey to build 51 houses. That project has already been granted planning permission.

In return, Taylor Wimpey offered to build the new hub which would include an auditorium, a bar and sports pitches on land north of Marcham Road, east of Hyde Copse.

But when it applied to Vale of White Horse District Council for planning permission in February, landowner John Duffield objected.

His lawyer, Olswang, said in a letter to the district council: “This application has been made in relation to the development of his land by Taylor Wimpey without the consent or approval of Mr Duffield, who wishes to make clear his opposition to the proposal.”

On April 3, Taylor Wimpey withdrew its planning application.

The trust was set up in 1913 to provide facilities in Marcham in memory of villager Arthur Anson.

But for years has been running out of money and wanted to sell off its land for housing to get a new community centre built.

The plans divided opinion, with a parish council survey last May showing that 53 per cent were against the proposal and 47 per cent in favour.

County councillor for Marcham Iain Brown said: “This is a shame. Marcham hasn’t had a community facility since the Anson Institute closed in 2004.”

Gemma Hitchcock, of Taylor Wimpey, said: “We are currently reviewing a range of options and we will update the local community as soon as we have any further information.”

Marcham Parish Council chairman David Walton said: “This plan would only be viable if the parish council is able to provide a replacement site for the football which Anson Field is currently used for.

“We are considering a field north of the village between Sheepstead Road and Cow Lane, but this site is supposed to be set aside for allotments, so we would have to consider that choice carefully.”

The parish council will discuss the field at its next meeting on May 8.