A band of eco-activists look set to have failed to win residents’ support for their proposed takeover of the former BBC sports club site in Motspur Park.

The Community Food Growers group were nearly booted out of a pub during a meeting about their plans for the site.

Lead activist Louise Almond, 28, and her 30-year-old partner Gareth Newnham, said they had a torrid time trying to win over the Motspur Park Residents’ Association during a meeting at the Earl Beatty pub on Sunday.

Ms Almond said: "First we got into trouble with the landlady, who was really angry because we had publicised a meeting in her pub without asking her first.

"Then the residents told us they wanted playing fields on the site and would not discuss anything further with us. It was very disappointing."

The site was bought by Irish millionaire Ben Dunne in 2005, whose plans to build a leisure centre on the site were derailed in 2008 after objections from residents, Sport England and the Mayor of London.

Since then the building, which is manned by one caretaker, has fallen into a state of disrepair, including its copper piping being stripped out by burglars.

But residents said it was the audacity of the eco-activists that put them off their plans for a community food growing project, as well the question of its illegality.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: "We all want something nice to be done with the site, but I really don’t think a bunch of green-fingered squatters is the answer.”"

Squatters took over Raven's Ait island in Surbiton in 2009 with a vision of running an eco-friendly centre for the people of the town.

But they ran up huge electricity bills and were finally evicted in May by a dawn raid from around 40 police officers who pulled several from crow's nests and underground bunkers.