The committee that oversees London’s iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground has rejected plans to build residential apartments on site to fund ground redevelopments.

Instead, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Committee has decided to improve the ground’s Compton and Edrich Stands using its own resources.

The decision was made after a wide consultation, and will be put before club members during a Special General Meeting on 27 September 2017.

According to MCC chair Gerald Corbett, the committee thought that the construction of flats within Lord’s grounds would “detract from the ambiance” and contain “a number of operational, security, execution and planning risks”.

Two years of research went into the decision, said the MCC, adding that “thousands of hours of analysis” involving specialist consultants and lawyers contributed to the outcome.

Work is expected to begin on the stands in late 2019, with the project completed by June 2021.

As a result, ground capacity will increase, facilities will improve and spectators will experience “better circulation”.

The work will follow the £25m (US$32.6m, €27.9m) redevelopment of the venue’s Warner Stand, which was designed by Populous and opened earlier this year.