A LONG awaited revamp of an historic jewel in Worcester’s sporting crown is expected to get the nod next week, it has emerged.

The city council’s planning committee is being asked to approve a transformation of the old Cinderella Sports Ground in St John’s.

The derelict site, off Bransford Road, dates back to the 1870s as a former home for Worcestershire County Cricket Club.

Worcester College of Technology wants to renovate the facility and bring it back into use for students, as well as possible venue for St John’s Colts youth football club and Worcester Dominies and Guild Cricket Club.

A report for the committee, which meets on Thursday at the Guildhall, says the site has “been left to decay” and urges it be accepted.

It also says the derelict sports pavilion, which was previously condemned as unsafe, will be “reinstated to its original condition”.

It calls the development a “welcome opportunity to ensure a key part of Worcester’s sporting heritage is restored to its original condition”.

The college wants to build a one story extension to the structure for changing rooms and shower facilities.

Thirty car parking spaces will also be created on a patch of land directly east of the ground.

If the committee votes it through, work is expected to start swiftly on revamping the site to its former glories.

Resident Sheila Brown, 55, who lives in Bransford Road, said: “It’s been an eyesore for a long time now.

“It’s been getting worse and worse and it’s not great for people who live by it - so I’d like to see this done.”

The former Kay and Co site , owned by Arndale Property, has not been used for sport for the last eight years.

The name Cinderella Ground originated from the workers at the old Willis’s Cinderella Shoe Factory, who used the facilities in the early 1900s.

It’s also the site of a number of historic moments in county cricket history, such as W.G Grace playing for Worcestershire in 1868.

The report says the ground carries “extreme significance” for the city.

In recent years the city council has been working hard behind the scenes to try and attract a third party to invest in it.

The planning committee session gets underway from 1.30pm.