Ambitious plans to upgrade a sports centre on the banks of the River Teifi are set to go before planners.

The owners of Llechryd cricket club and grounds have drawn up designs for a full-scale redevelopment of their ageing facilities.

Now home to 440 members, the club has outgrown its existing capacity and is hoping to construct a new modern club house to accommodate cricket, tennis and football teams.

The owners have hopes it will become carbon neutral and installed with the capability of rainwater harvesting to help maintain the grounds.

CGI designs for the new Llechryd sports club
(John Curran)

Plans were unveiled to the community with Ceredigion MP Ben Lake on hand to hear the exciting plans.

It is hoped it will go before Ceredigion County Council planners in the coming months once funding is secured.

John Curran, who is involved with the club and the development of the plans, said: “We want to be a fully inclusive club that offers a range of sports from physical team sports to other activities.

“We want to add a wellbeing place here where people can walk around with gym equipment for people to use.

“Local community days and other activities always happen up here – and we want to improve capacity for that.

“We only started senior football two years ago and now we have signed on 60 members - and recently this year a junior section started with over 50 kids in the first year!

“It’s a pretty amazing achievement.

“With our six-acre grounds, we want to include a path around the sports field, install outdoor gym equipment and invite people to the club to hold ‘wellbeing walks and talks.

“(We hope to encourage) more pan-disability sports also and increase participation from ladies and girls in the area.

“We want to stay with the current clubhouse and turn it into four changing rooms while keeping the character of the hardworking volunteers who built the club and kept us going for over 40 years.

“Offering children, ladies, men and officials changing rooms with shower access for everyone.”

Ceredigion county councillor for Cardigan, Clive Davies, said: “I hope, with the work being done by a focused group of volunteers, the end result will be a real asset to the community of Llechryd and the surrounding areas.

"I know work is underway on the business plan and funding applications by a focused group of volunteers."

The club was established in 1979 and in 1981 the community purchased the six-acre site after fundraising.