A SURVEY of land earmarked for development has begun at Radcliffe Cricket Club, fuelling rumours that the site has already been sold to house builders.

Surprised residents watched a 40-ft high drilling rig take up position next to the Racecourse ground clubhouse on Monday.

The move prompted speculation that a sale of land had already taken place and that building work was under way, ahead of planning permission being sought.

But club officials say that although developers have submitted a seven-figure bid, no deal has yet been done.

Last month, the club announced that it plans to relocate to a £500,000 multi-sports centre at Cams Lane running track, with its old ground to be sold for housing.

However, Osborne Walk resident Andrew Waddington said that he and other residents still felt they were "in the dark" about the proposals.

Mr Waddington (44), whose house faces the land, said: "The club is not talking to us. They say nothing is happening, but there is all this work going on.

"Some people thought it was a developer speculating to accumulate, others thought it was the cricket club.

"What bothers me is that they are planning to build houses but we don't know what sort, they might be flats or they might be bungalows.

"I just want to know what I'm going to be looking at in 12 or 18 months time." Cricket club chairman David Halliwell later explained that survey contractors, Amco International, were inserting a six-inch-wide bore hole for soil samples, in a routine test for contaminants before land could be sold.

Mr Halliwell said: "We are testing the soil to make sure there are no foreign bodies and no contamination underneath.

"We have had a bid, but nothing has been sorted out yet. All we are doing is testing the ground.

"The cricket club have organised it and will pay for it.

"We're not the dark people that some people seem to think, all that we are trying to do is preserve Radcliffe Cricket Club."

Mr Halliwell ruled out the possibility of flats being built on the ground, and said that an open day was being planned at the club in early January for residents to examine proposals in detail.

A public meeting to discuss plans for the Cams Lane running track will take place at 7pm on January 10, at Radcliffe Civic Suite.