Allerdale council has paid out around £174,000 to support Workington’s Derwent Park sports ground and rugby in the last six months.

The figures, including legal fees, the removal of the old speedway track, and pitch improvements have emerged through a Freedom of Information request to the borough authority.

Of this, more than £77,000 was spent in January on a council move to buy Workington Town rugby league club out of their lease.

Ultimately, Derwent Park could be made available for alternative uses as part of the wider regeneration of the area, but only after the long-awaited new stadium is built.

But the council also stressed that there are no no specific proposals for the redevelopment of the site at the present time.

Meanwhile, plans remain to build the new sports village and shared stadium to be used by both sports clubs on the site of Borough Park, home of Workington Reds football club.

The council also spent more than £1,500 on celebratory hats and scarves for schoolchildren last January after Workington won the right to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

The money, included in the figures, was spent on 170 hats and scarves for a celebration event held in the Carnegie Theatre, before the present administration dashed Cumbria’s dreams of hosting the events.

The former administration’s multi-million-pound stadium scheme had been the linchpin of the winning bid.

However, the games were pulled after the borough council’s new executive voted not to press ahead with it amid claims it was financially risky.

It also emerged that the council paid out £1,500 in March and a further £63,168 in April to support sports development and pitch improvements.

A payment of £4,000 was given to Workington Town in June to pay for the removal of the speedway track previously used by Workington Comets at Derwent Park.

The move was intended to allow Reds to play on Town’s ground while Borough Park was bulldozed to make way for the new stadium – demolition work which is yet to begin.

In July, the authority spent a further £12,070 on further improvements needed for the temporary ground-sharing at Derwent Park.

The new leadership has not ruled out a new stadium, previously agreeing to look into the building of a scaled-back version.

A council spokesman said: “Plans for a new sports village on the current Borough Park site in Workington are progressing and discussions with both clubs continue to take place with a view to moving forward on a scheme to provide new shared stadium and associated facilities for the wider community.”

Workington Town has been given a licence to continue to occupy Derwent Park until such time as alternative stadium provision is made available.

A council spokesman said that taking control of the lease would allow the authority to play a direct role in the future regeneration of the Lower Derwent Valley area.