A DECISION by Caradon councillors last week could well 'draw stumps' on the controversial Calstock cricket nets, according to Don Mussell, the man behind the project.

But Calstock Parish Council said solutions to the problems facing the sports facility could probably be found if only Mr Mussell would negotiate with them.

District councillors, at their planning committee last week, voted not to allow the nets to remain in place all year — a condition enshrined in a licence agreement between Mr Mussell and the parish council states that the structure should be put up and taken down for each session, although it has not been moved since it was first erected last year.

One of the main reasons they said was because it was feared youngsters would climb on the structure risking injury, which could result in enormous claims for damages against the parish council, which is responsible for the field.

But Mr Mussell said: 'It's a bit of a nonsense really. I'm looking at the football posts and the basketball posts and they stay up all the time.

'It means the cricket will have to close. The kids will lose out, but it's too much of a hassle to put it up and take it down — it's just not on.

'It was recommended by council officers to be passed. What went on I just don't know. I'm very disappointed — not least because we had to pay £130 to make the application — all the others involved, especially the youngsters, will be very disappointed too.'

Ian Kirk, chairman of the Calstock Parish Council, said they had objected on two grounds — one that Mr Mussell had already signed the licence, which could not anyway be circumvented by obtaining planning permission from Caradon, and secondly because he had made the application in the name of the village cricket club — a separate organisation.

Mr Kirk explained that the licence was so worded because it was the only way they could satisfy the council's insurance company.

'But I do find that rather peculiar,' he said. 'It is perhaps unreasonable because there's a basketball hoop on a concrete base down there and perhaps we could negotiate something afresh. I don't feel the insurance is an impossible barrier.

'What he needs to do is get in touch with our recreation committee and talk with them about a way forward for the facility. We are not all against the thing — anything that gives the kids something to do should be supported — but it has got to be done properly.'

The project to provide the cricket practice facility in the village took some seven years to bear fruit, having faced opposition from some unexpected local sources as well as the planning regulations.

The facility, described by Mr Mussell as the finest outdoor cricket nets in Cornwall, was finally opened at the end of June — although it was very nearly scuppered within 24 hours when some local youngsters tried to burn it down.