TWO clubs involved in negotiations over Bicester’s £2.8m sports village for years are fuming after not being officially told the athletics track had been shelved.

The Oxford Mail revealed last month that only part of the sports village had enough cash to go ahead, so other facilities including the track and astro turf pitch had been put on hold.

Both Bicester Athletics and Alchester Running clubs had believed the scheme was “ticking along nicely”.

Cherwell District Council bought the land last December for £240,000, and as part of the deal the owner must provide a pavilion.

But it confirmed it used “contingency reserves”, which meant there was no impact on other projects.

Bicester Athletics Club chairman Steve Flynn said: “We’re all very disappointed. We spent an awful lot of time working with Cherwell’s sports development officer getting athletics involved.

“Now they are telling us that funding they thought they had was not coming.”

Alchester chairman Gary Warland said: “We understand about funding, but it would have been nice to be told and things explained to us.”

Michael Gibbard, the council’s executive member for planning, said the Bicester project was being funded by Kingsmere’s developer Countryside Developments and the council to the tune of £1.5m. Funds are still being sought for the other projects.