Kent County Cricket Club (KCCC) has been forced to postpone its plans the redevelopment of its St Lawrence ground in Canterbury after a developer pulled out of the scheme due to financial difficulties.

The club was granted planning permission for the project by Canterbury City Council in June 2007, with a new 130-bed hotel, conference facilities, a museum, and a fitness centre among the proposals for the site. Funding for the scheme was set to come from the sale of land at the St Lawrence ground, but current economic conditions have meant that one of the companies involved with the project, Persimmon Homes, had withdrawn its offer.

KCCC chair, George Kennedy, said: "The main builder successful in tendering for the work on the bat and ball site and the net site has run into financial difficulties and is currently unable to go ahead under the terms previously agreed. "The committee is presently seeking offers from several companies and I am pleased to report that negotiations are progressing well."