PLANS to build a community facility with a games area in Worcester are under way.

In February, the Worcester News revealed plans to build a £1.8 million community centre in St Peter's were being reviewed because of a funding shortfall.

At this week's St Peter's Parish Council meeting, city and parish councillor Roger Knight said the plans had now been dropped and a new "slimmed-down" project was under way instead.

He said a new architect was being brought in who had previous experience in building smaller facilities for the budget the St Peter's Village Hall Association had in mind.

After the meeting, he said: "The previous project was too expensive, unachievable and unsustainable. There's work going on to produce a more realistic site on a smaller scale that will include a multi-use games area."

The association had hoped to build a centre with multi-purpose halls, sports facilities and meeting rooms on land next to Abbotsbury Court, close to the newly-built St Peter's Baptist Church. But at February's parish council meeting, Coun Knight said the plans were no longer viable.

He said that although the association had raised funds through city council grants, fund-raising and money contributed by developers to local amenities, it had been unable to secure a substantial grant from the Big Lottery Fund, because it was not taking any more applications until 2009.