A BALL, with a chain attached, is likely to be the non-fairytale ending of the old Cinderella sports ground in Worcester.

A new pavillion is on the cards, and tomorrow Worcester City Council will meet in the Guildhall and discuss demolition of the old pavillion, a building that would have been well known to the Victorian cricketing superstar, WG Grace.

The Cinderella sports ground was the original home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club and the scene of cricketing history, such as Grace taking to the crease for the county in 1868 and a visit by Australia in 1878.

The thought of reducing the pavillion to rubble is too much for former city mayor, David Clarke, who battled long and hard to save it before leaving the council in 2010.

Mr Clarke, who was famously one of the councillors who halted demolition at the eleventh hour in 2006, by finding roosting sparrows in the pavillion, off Bransford Road, says he is livid that the city council looks set to agree with demolition after all.

He said: "I can understand where they are coming from, but that building is iconic. It may be falling down, but that doesn't stop it from being restored.

"We put a lot of effort into saving it, and it should be saved somewhere, in some form."

Mr Clarke suggested it could be moved to another location, but he added: "I would like a report, before the council accepts the idea of pulling it down. They should get estimates of what it would cost to restore it, and let's see what is involved. They should find this out before making a decision."

In February, the Worcester News reported that the Cinderella sports ground was to get a £365,000 "makeover"; but now the council is to consider "removing the existing sports pavillion and the construction of a new sports pavillion".

The proposed new development would be a partnership between Worcester City Council and the Heart of Worcestershire College.

The Worcester News understands that the council has an option of taking on a 25 lease from the site's current owners, Arndale Property.

The pavillion is locally listed, but it has not been used for ten years, after being declared unsafe.

In 2006, English Heritage declined a request to list it, saying it did not "possess sufficient architectural significance to justify listing".

City council planning officer, Sally Watts said: "It is an historic building and, in its day it was a very beautiful building, but it is in quite a significant state of decay. Most of the plinths have gone underneath it."

In her report she concludes: "On balance, I am of the opinion that the proposal provides a welcome opportunity to ensure that a sporting function can be reintroduced to the site which is a key part of Worcester's sporting heritage."

The new pavillion, of approved, would be adjacent to Bransford Road and "further from the main areas of residential activity".

Sport England has no objection to the proposals.