A VILLAGE cricket ground which was sold to a developer has been declared an eyesore and a disgrace to the community.

For years Sturry Cricket Club took pride in maintaining its ground off Field Way.

But that came to an abrupt halt at the end of the 2004 cricket season when the six-acre site was snapped-up by a Sussex developer for £140,000 and the club’s use of the ground was terminated.

A ground-share arrangement with Selling over the past two seasons has given the Sturry club a temporary home but an uncertain future, while Sturry Parish Council has become increasingly alarmed by the ground’s deterioration.

Parish councillor Heather Taylor, who also represents Sturry South on Canterbury city council, described the ground as a wilderness and a disgrace.

She is asking the parish council to take urgent action to persuade the owner to clean up the site.

“The new owner couldn’t wait to get rid of the cricket club,” she said. “But now they’ve gone, the ground has become an eyesore. The old pavilion is derelict and covered in graffiti. The whole place has gone to ruin.

“It’s a disgraceful situation, a complete waste of all the hard work carried out by the club over the years.”

Cllr Taylor said the parish council had made repeated efforts to contact the new owner without success.

She said he was Mr Z. Khan, of Chapel Park Road, St Leonard’s-on-Sea, East Sussex. BT’s directory inquiries unit said Mr Khan’s telephone number was not listed.

The land was bought at auction run by Kent-based firm Clive Emson.

Kevin Gilbert, the auctioneer in charge of the sale, declined to identify the purchasor. He said the land, bearing a catalogue guide price of between £30,000 to £35,000, had sold for £140,000.