Hopes for a new £2.25m Centre of Excellence for Rugby and Cricket in Oxford are under threat.

Oxford Harlequins Rugby Club secretary Keith Latham, left, and chairman Kevin Johnson at the site of the proposed centre of excellence

Last month, the city council approved a land deal to allow the project off Horspath Road, Cowley, to go ahead.

But the authority's own planning officers are opposing plans to build homes on a site in Headington, the sale of which would fund the sports centre.

They have recommended that councillors refuse planning permission for 40 houses, including 16 affordable homes, at the former Headington United Cricket Club ground in Barton Road.

Peter Johnson, the council's executive member for leisure, said this "risked giving the impression that one part of the council was acting against another".

He added: "I hope councillors use their discretion because if they follow the recommendation it would be a major spanner in the works.

"I hope they realise that they could be getting a major sporting facility and some affordable housing, which Oxford desperately needs."

Planning officers say the derelict cricket ground, known as The Cage, should be retained as a recreation site and that the property development would contravene the county's Structure Plan and the city's Local Plan because a greenfield site would be lost.

The strategic development control committee meets on Wednesday, April 30, to vote on the plan. Kevin Johnson, chairman of Oxford Harlequins Rugby Club, which is planning to run the new centre with Oxford Brookes University and Oxford and Horspath Cricket Club, said: "I told our AGM last week that April 30 is one of the biggest dates in the club's history.

"It would be a nightmare if planners refuse permission for the new homes because that is a crucial part of the funding.

"If they do turn it down, it will be a huge setback because so much time and effort has been spent on this already."

Last month's decision by the council to lease former allotment and agricultural land off Horspath Road for the new centre was seen as a major step forward for the scheme, which stalled in 1999 when a bid for a £2.1m lottery grant failed.

It is hoped that the new centre will include a pavilion, two cricket and four rugby pitches, and a car park.

As part of the land deal for the 35-acre site, the city council's sports development team will be allowed 290 hours a year of cricket, 290 hours of rugby union and 175 hours of rugby league, with pupils from local schools to benefit.

Outline planning permission for the centre has been granted, and up to £350,000 is being sought from the National Lottery.

Simon Porter, chairman of Oxford and Horspath Cricket Club, said: "We expect about £2m to come from the sale of the site and every penny will go into new site.

"Lottery grants are being scaled down these days, so we cannot simply rely on grant funding.

"I was very surprised when I found out the planning officers' recommendation because I thought all sections of the council were behind our plan.

"The ground in Barton Road hasn't been used now for five years, and it's too close to homes to play cricket, which is why we no longer use it."

The cricket club's first team now plays on St Catherine's College's ground in Marston.