A £20 million sports village plan including a new home for Dudley Town Football Club has been shelved, it emerged today.

A council report into possible locations for the ambitious scheme has effectively ruled out five potential sites, dealing a major blow to the Robins’ 12-year search for a home.

Although none were named, the report said two were identified as major housing developments and another was part of an educational establishment and linked to a protected nature conservation area.

The remaining two sites are both privately owned, would be expensive to buy and require costly building work to convert into sports venues.

The sports village would have featured a swimming pool, athletics tracks, gym and all-weather pitches.

Dudley Town supporters have been searching for a new stadium since the club was forced to leave its former base at Castle Gate in 1995.

But Councillor Charles Fraser-McNamara conceded the findings of the report represented a significant setback.

“It does seem it is moving into the distance to be honest,” he said.

“At the moment I don’t think it’s as feasible as we had hoped it might be. The study has looked at a numlarge number of sites and reduced that down to a shortlist of five.

“However, when we looked at these five, they all appear to have more disadvantages than advantages.

“It’s a setback, but the feasility study has been a very interesting exercise.”

Councillor Fraser-McNamara said he could understand Dudley Town’s disappointment, but that the club was benefiting from improved facilities at its existing home of Dell Stadium, in Bryce Road.

“The stadium has been improved to a standard that will allow them to play at a higher level and the club are very comfortable with the current situation,” he said.

He added that the council would look at the situation again when another study into sports facilities by the Black Country Consortium was released in December.