A grant worth thousands of pounds to help build a new community centre could be lost because of delays.

The committee behind the Thorpe Edge centre is now racing against time to get work started this year.

Newlands Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) Partnership board has committed itself to a £375,000 grant for the centre.

SRB rules say work must begin on projects allocated grants within a year. The board has agreed a rescue measure to split the grant over two years - but the group is still facing problems meeting the time scale because it was late applying for funds from other organisations, including Sport England and has not received their decisions.

A consultant was brought in two years ago to draw up plans for the centre in Thorpe Edge which residents had dreamed of since 1990.

A £6 million scheme, drawn up after consultation with the community, was judged unaffordable. The committee now has plans to build a £2.5 million centre, for which the SRB cash is vital.

Steering committee chairman John Rawnsley said: "We are very concerned about the situation and made our application for funds from Sport England recently. We have told them it is an urgent situation."

The steering group includes Thorpe Edge residents and representatives of organisations in the area. It began working with a consultant two years ago.

But SRB board members were told last month that matched funding was not in place and in some cases not applied for yet.

Liberal Democrat ward councillor Jeanette Sunderland said: "It has been a very ambitious plan and very complex but I am sure they will succeed. It depends on the timing of funding from other organisations."

SRB partnership board chief executive Jim Smith said: "It has been a very complicated project and they have had problems getting funding applications in time.

"The board has now decided to amend the programme to split the grant over two years, making the possibility of a start this year more achievable. But the first half would have to be spent this year"

He said the centre was a key part of the board's programme, funded through the Government's SRB, to provide community facilities as part of the regeneration of five estates, including Thorpe Edge.