PLANS to bring dilapidated sports facilities in Rock into the 21st century at a cost of £250,000 have been unveiled by the village's parish council.

The existing pre-fab pavilion at Far Forest Showground, Callow Hill, which dated back about 50 years was bulldozed three weeks ago and will be replaced by new changing rooms and a meeting room.

In addition, the football pitch will be realigned to allow the development of a new cricket pitch, a third tennis court will be developed, the car park will be extended and the site access upgraded.

A 10-year development plan also includes proposals for the creation of a wetland area which will be used as an educational resource for schools in the area.

Rock parish councillor John Collett said new, more stringent public health requirements and improved standards required by football and tennis leagues meant existing facilities were totally unsuitable.

He said Far Forest Society, formerly Far Forest Horticultural Society, which owned the site, had already raised £50,000 of the estimated quarter of a million needed to re-develop the site through revenue from the annual show, car boot sales, as well as rent from clubs which used the site.

"We shall be applying to whatever bodies we can for the remainder of the funding. We have already had encouraging noises from Sport England and Defra which is supporting rural areas," he added.

The new pavilion will be the third to be built on the site - the first was blown down during high winds.

The society also hopes to develop a wetlands area on the site of a former pond in a far corner of the site away from the main road.

"We want to put back part of the rural environment that is being lost," said Mr Collett, who added that Far Forest and Alexander Patterson schools had expressed an interest in using the sites.

"This development will bring these sports facilities into the 21st century," he added.