Lewes Football Club have come a long way in a short space of time but the journey has only just begun.

Plans are in place to develop the Dripping Pan to bring the ground up to Conference National standard and to avoid missing out on a possible promotion as the Rooks have done this year.

But this work forms just a part of a wider scheme to make Lewes a centre of sporting excellence for the South East.

Martin Elliott and Kevin Powell are directors of both Lewes Football Club and Active Lewes, the company set up to turn the £5 million dream into reality.

With the athletics, cricket, rugby, hockey and bowls clubs of the town also involved they are keen to stress this is far from just a football project.

Elliott and Powell admit the chance to make a Lewes a beacon on the sporting map was an incentive when they got involved with the football club.

Powell said: "It is something that has been talked about for a long time. "We got involved with Lewes Football Club because we knew something like this was a possibility. The football club was a catalyst for us."

The plans would see the football club's stadium brought up Conference National standard, including a new allweather pitch.

"It would also result in the creation of a new indoor athletics track, which could also be used for indoor cricket, the building of new indoor tennis courts, new and improved squares for cricket, linked with new changing facilities, a pavilion and a restaurant, and the freeing up of more space for the rugby club.

Lewes Football Club, Lewes Bridgeview Football Club, Lewes Athletics Club, Lewes Rugby Club, the Southdown Club, Lewes Priory Cricket Club, Lewes St Michael's Cricket Club and Lewes Bowls Club would be linked by the venture along with Priory School and the Sussex Downs College.

Most of the land in question, stretching from Lewes Leisure Centre to the Stanley Turner Ground, is vested with East Sussex and Lewes District Council, who own it and administer it for charitable trusts.

Active Lewes are looking to take over the management of the land and will look to funding from national organisations to make the project work.

The men behind Active Lewes, a not-for-profit organisation, are Elliott, a property developer at Philcox Brothers, Powell, an accountant with Knill James, and Peter Masters, a highly respected figure in athletics who also runs Regeneration Projects.

Elliott said: "We are just floating up ideas at this stage. We are not telling clubs this is what we should be doing. We are asking if they would be prepared to be part of this.

"We have had meetings with all the clubs concerned. They have been involved with discussions to get to this stage and they all have representatives on the Active Lewes committee.

"The next stage is to continue consultation with the council and to have a public forum in the town hall."

Powell said: "Whatever we do has got to be used by lots of sports, not just one sport. The icing on the cake would be the third generation football pitch.

It could be used by many organisations. That is how we would look to generate income.

"There are 100 kids every Sunday at the rugby club and they could train on this pitch.

"Third generation pitches are FIFA approved and we have already discussed it with the Conference.

"We are looking at five to ten years. Planning will take two years. We believe if it is going to happen it will happen now and the timescale will be nearer five years."

Transport and parking problems could provide hurdles but the scheme has the support of local MP Norman Baker, who has been a strong opponent of Albion's plans for a new stadium at Falmer a few miles along the road from Lewes.

Elliott does not see any conflict with Falmer.

He said: "We have always been very supportive of Brighton and Hove Albion and what they are trying to do.

"They have been shown our plans and are very supportive of us. We are trying to do something different. It is not a football project. It is the county town trying to provide facilities for the county. We are looking to turn Lewes into a centre of sporting excellence."

Powell added: "It is a chance to put Lewes on the map, not just because of its football team but as a sporting village for the South East."