COUNCILLORS have called for Huddersfield people to be consulted about the future of Fartown rugby league ground.

The plea came after Huddersfield Giants announced that they were severing final links with the Spaines Road site.

Now, people in the area have said they are worried about what will happen to the land.

One suggestion today was to have a top-level cycle track.

The ground was home to Huddersfield Giants under-21 and under-18 teams, until plans for a £500,000 redevelopment at the site collapsed this week.

A 300-seat stand, improvements to the pitch, new lighting and improvements to the supporters' club were planned by the Fartown Development Company.

Birkby ward councillor Mehboob Khan said the rugby ground should now be put to use for the Fartown community.

Clr Khan, who supported the FDC's project, said: "It would have been used as a centre of rugby excellence and a centre for the Fartown community.

"We should now consult Huddersfield residents about what could happen on the site."

He added: "It was very exciting what the FDC were planning. We are really disappointed, as we were keen to see the development go ahead."

Clr Khan said Kirklees Cycling Forum has previously expressed interest in turning the council-owned land into a track for competitions and a safe area for youngsters to learn to ride.

He added: "There is a need. The nearest cycling facility like that is at Manchester."

Two years of planning wrangles meant the ground deteriorated badly and the FDC did not have the cash to bring it back up to scratch for the project to go ahead.

The Rugby Football League told the Giants the pitch was unfit for play, so they have moved to other sites.

The move ends more than a century of rugby at the site.