Essex County Cricket Club's (ECCC) plans for the £85m redevelopment of The County Ground in Chelmsford are set go before a public inquiry after the government decided to call in the scheme.

The scheme will see the complete overhaul of cricketing facilities at the County Ground, including a new pavilion, a new media centre and conference suites, as well as increasing the venue's capacity from 5,800 to around 7,500 seats. A new ECCC museum and library and new club shop also feature as part of the proposals for the ground, which will form part of a wider mixed-use development incorporating residential apartments, 15,000sq ft (1,394sq m) of retail and leisure facilities, and a new public piazza area.

Chelmsford Borough Council (CBC) and MCD Developments are working in partnership with ECCC on the project, which was awarded conditional planning consent in September 2008 before being referred to the Government Office for the East of England due to concerns about the site being situated on a floodplain. Keith Brown, ECC treasurer, said: "We are immensely disappointed by the decision because we believe everything has been done to satisfy government policy and the development plan for Chelmsford Our development is a high-quality design bringing much-needed housing and jobs to the area.

"This scheme would act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the town centre and moreover takes proper account of the flood risk by retaining the flood storage capability of the site, as well as raising the entire scheme safely out of the flood plain." It had been hoped that ECCC would relocate after the 2009 season to allow the redevelopment to take place, before moving back in time for the 2011 season. However, the government's decision to hold a public inquiry is now set to delay the scheme.