A £2M river sports complex in Oxford has been dealt a fatal blow after the clubs involved failed to agree on how the project would be run.

But the ethos of the scheme is set to be continued with a new river sports 'village' planned.

Each club will bid for Lottery money to develop its own facilities, while working together to encourage more local people to take up watersports.

The National Lottery had put a ceiling on the amount it was prepared to consider for the original sports complex development, which was backed by Olympic gold medalist rower, Steve Redgrave.

The boathouse was to be built on land next to Donnington Bridge in Oxford and was to incorporate six clubs -- the City of Oxford Rowing Club, Falcon Rowing and Canoe Club, Hinksey Sculling School, Oxford Adaptive Rowers, Oxford Sub Aqua Club and the Riverside Centre -- providing an array of riversports from one complex.

But it has proved too difficult for the clubs to agree on how best to merge their respective facilities.

After more than a year's effort, no bid has been submitted.

Instead the ambitious project is to be scaled down drastically. A revised scheme for a riversports village now depends on some clubs raising about £500,000 each for individual projects.

The City of Oxford Rowing Club (CORC) has already announced a £500,000 bid to update its boathouse beside Donnington Bridge. It wants to cater better for women and disabled rowers.

CORC secretary Barbara Wilson said the riversports village project would still mean clubs working in partnership to encourage the wider community to take up riversports.

She said: "It became too difficult to pull it all together because of the diversity of each club. There were too many differences.

"With the village idea, the aim is to take water sports forward for Oxford, and allow people the chance to have a go."

Falcon Rowing and Canoe Club in Meadow Lane, off Donnington Bridge Road, is now heading a separate bid for cash to develop its boathouse, which may also incorporate other clubs.