THE Castle Combe Colts football club has been forced to rethink its £200,000 plans for a new sports pavilion after the Football Foundation refused to provide it with a grant unless the club met half of the cost itself.

The Colts are desperate for new facilities because young members of both sexes currently have to use a converted shipping container as a changing area.

The club has already raised £16,000 towards the pavilion, but has now been told that the Football Foundation will not help it unless it raises 50 per cent of the total on its own.

At a meeting of the district council's Chippenham area committee on Monday, club vice chair Bill Flynn said:

"After two-and-a-half years working with the Football Foundation, with them allowing us to spend a lot of money on architects and consultants, they turned up at a meeting in March and told us they could not help us unless we found 50 per cent of the funding. Last time it was ten per cent."

The lack of funding has led to a radical rethink of the club's plans.

The club already has planning permission for a less ambitious solution, to build a simple three-room changing facility, which will cost around £22,000.

The district council had already agreed to give the club £4,000 from last year's budget towards the pavilion, and Mr Flynn asked members if this money could be used to help pay for the new scaled-down scheme.

The club wanted the district council grant confirmed so they could engage builders and start work on the project over the summer in time for the new season.

But although Coun Christine Crisp said she was sympathetic to the Colts' plight, she did not want to change the nature of the grant unless a new application was submitted for the new project.

Coun Adrian Bishop supported the Colts: "They were led to believe they would get a gigantic sum of money and were let down at the last minute.

"It is difficult for children, male and female, to be operating out of a container.

"I do believe, in view of the fact they already have planning permission, we should go ahead at this time," he said.

But other members agreed that a new application should be submitted.

Coun Bishop said after the meeting that the Colts' original plan was for the smaller changing room facility but they were encouraged to think on a larger scale by the Football Foundation.

An emergency meeting of the area committee will be convened to consider the new application.