Plans to expand a primary school onto the site of an old cricket ground in Hounslow have met with opposition from a leading sports club.

Hounslow Council wants to double the number of pupils attending Wellington Primary School, in Sutton Lane, Hounslow, in a bid to meet the growing demand for primary school places. Under its plans, the number of pupils per year would increase to 120 from September 2017.

The council has already identified a possible site for expansion at Church Meadows, also in Sutton Lane, which was previously home to Hounslow Cricket and Sports Club and is still used by Hounslow Indoor Bowls Club.

It is understood the proposed school building would only occupy the site of the old cricket pavilion, three disused tennis courts and a former bowling green, meaning neither the bowls club nor the old cricket pitch would be affected.

But Indian Gymkhana Club, which has been seeking to use the site for the best part of a decade, is concerned about the loss of another potential sporting space, which it says are already too scarce in the borough.

Sarbjit Dhillon, is cricket secretary of the club, which was founded in 1916 and counts 450 young cricketers, footballers and hockey players among its members.

"We're a growing club and we're helping to get young people off the streets and adopting healthier lifestyles, which is why we've just launched a girls cricket team," he said.

"We don't want to be turning children away but we have just one cricket ground and have to look outside the borough to rent other grounds because everywhere in Hounslow has been sold off.

"We understand there's a need for more primary school places but we also need sports pitches for use by the community. If there was an opportunity to share this land with the school we would be interested but that's not something which has been discussed."

Charlie Puckett, the former secretary of Hounslow Sports Forum, which was set up to promote sport in the borough, also opposes the potential loss of sporting space.

"It makes no sense to put a school on this site but plenty of sense to let it return to the use it had for nearly a century – that of a community supporting sports club," he said.

Hounslow Council estimates it will need an extra 500 reception places by 2015/16 to meet the growing demand .

It has just finished an initial public consultation about expanding Wellington Primary School and Hounslow Town Primary, where it wants to add 60 places per year from 2016.

Depending on the outcome of the initial consultation, the public would be consulted on more detailed plans for the expansion, before cabinet members decide this September whether to proceed with the proposals.

A council spokesman said: "We're asking parents and local residents for their views on proposals to expand Wellington Primary School to meet the rising demand for school places.

"This feedback will inform a feasibility report going to cabinet in September, where members will be asked to agree the next steps."

Proposals for a new primary free school in Brentford were last month submitted to the Government.