HOPES of purchasing a much loved sports ground have been dashed.

For the past five years campaigners have been hoping to buy the Molins Sports Ground in Monks Risborough for the community.

But at Tuesday night’s Princes Risborough Town Council meeting Cllr Alan Turner said for the time being, it looks as if it has come to the end of the road.

Molins Sports and Social Club in Mill Lane was closed in 2007 after they were evicted by Molins PLC.

The buildings on the site were pulled down in 2010.

Cllr Turner told the council the importance of the site to people who have played there over the years.

He said: “People all over the county come up to me and say; ‘What’s happening with Molins? That is such a wonderful place, a wonderful facility.’”

But he said they have been able to get nowhere. They managed to raise almost £1million through various match funding grants and the help of Wycombe District Council.

But six weeks after writing to Molins PLC who own the land with the offer they have heard nothing.

WDC have now told them they are not ringfencing the money anymore.

Cllr Turner proposed finding an alternative site for a sports ground. He said: “I would like to give a very public thank you to those people who have played a part. An awful lot of hard work and effort went into this.”

He added: “I am just sorry we can’t get a better result. We can’t force people to sell us something.”