THE new owner of a cricket ground has told the club it has to leave its home of more than 100 years at the end of the season.

Jonathon Webster made the announcement as he unveiled plans to turn the ground used by Stacksteads Cricket Club into a community sports facility.

A cricket club has been playing at Waterbarn Recreation Ground for 104 years and in 1990 owners Waterbarn Baptist Church agreed that Stacksteads could exclusively use the ground for its league games.

But it was announced in May that the church had sold the ground to Mr Webster and he has spoken for the first time of his plans.

Mr Webster said he was cancelling the cricket club's licence to use the ground as the club had not met the terms of the agreement by making late payments and failing in the upkeep of the club house and bowling green area of the ground.

However he said he was willing to pay for the club to set up at another site of a similar standard.

Bosses of the club and the Ribblesdale League have vowed to fight the move.

Mr Webster said he planned to build a new pavilion and provide community facilities for cricket, five-a-side football, competition level bowls, archery, fencing, tennis and other sports, on the ground.

Football would be played on astro turf pitches with enclosures that could be removed for the full field to be used for cricket in season.

Mr Webster, a musician and supplier of musical instr-uments, plans for the pavilion to be used as the Waterbarn Academy of Cricket, containing a cricket lounge, changing rooms and showers and stores.

He said his mission was to provide facilities for the whole community to enjoy sport for leisure, health and development of essential life skills.

As part of the Waterbarn Project he also plans to use the church, which has fallen into disrepair, as a music and theatre facility.

He said: "It could be a fantastic place for both sport and music.

"I want people to understand that this is for local young people."

Ron Ashworth, president of the cricket club, said the club was rejecting the cancellation of the license.

He said: "The Ribblesdale League has advised Mr Webster that his plans to redevelop the ground will mean the end of competitive league cricket on our ground."

Brian Woodhead, chairman of the Veka Ribblesdale Cricket League, said they were backing Stacksteads Cricket Club in its bid to stay at the ground and had advised the Lancashire Cricket Board of the situation.