Birds prevent pavilion demolition

Australia played at Boughton Park on their tour of England in 1878

The demolition of an historic cricket pavilion has been halted at the last minute to protect nesting birds.

Workers turned up on Thursday at the pavilion in Worcester, the 19th Century home of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, to find nesting house sparrows.

Planning officers said work would not be carried out for another three months, giving time for the council and developers to have more talks.

A campaign to save the pavilion from demolition had appeared to have failed.

Last minute reprieve

Worcester City Council had also tried to get the pavilion listed but this was rejected by English Heritage.

A council spokesman said the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 protects all nesting birds.

"It gives us another two months to talk to developers about the future of the building," he said.

Legendary cricketer W G Grace played at the ground, where the county played from 1871 to 1899.

The venue, known as the Cinderella ground, also played host to one of the first Australia teams to tour England in 1878.

Developers SJS Property Management said the site did not have enough special interest for it to be saved, but it had compiled a full survey of the building for use in the city's archives.