Bath Rugby's bid to expand its stadium capacity while remaining at the Recreation Ground is not dead.

The trustees for the site in the heart of Bath have indicated they will attempt to reverse the decision by a Government watchdog to throw out the latest plans.

Their chairman Councillor Chris Watt said persuading the Charity Commission, which governs the land on behalf of the people of Bath, to rethink their decision remained the preferred option.

After protracted negotiations with Bath Rugby and Bath and North East Somerset Council, the Rec Trust recently submitted proposals that would ensure the future of the club, with a 15,000-seat permanent stadium and the council-run leisure centre on the site.

But the Charity Commission threw out the plans, saying they were unable to square them with the land's charitable status. The trustees, three local councillors, are considering requesting a review of the commission's decision.

Mr Watt told a public meeting at the Guildhall that this option was preferable to doing nothing or submitting a whole new set of revised proposals.

He said: "We are not convinced that the way they calculated the detriments of the scheme was fair or reasonable.

"We are also looking at ways the legal detriments of this proposed scheme to the Rec's users in the commission's eyes can be reduced and the benefits to them increased." But the hiccup in the process casts doubt on whether the rugby club will be granted an extension on its temporary east stand lease for two more seasons.

The commission has said it could not support the extension and Mr Watt said until the trust had formally responded to the commission's decision it could not reasonably ask for that to be reconsidered.

This means the rugby club will not have the breathing space it wants to cope with the credit crunch.

Bath Rugby chief executive Bob Calleja reiterated the club's position at the meeting, saying it would co-operate fully to reach a solution.

The trustees have until April 19 to respond and are due to hold another meeting in March.

Campaigners against the expansion of Bath Rugby yesterday pledged to mount a legal challenge against all existing leases.

Worthy Gilson, chairman of pressure group Friends of the Rec, said the trustees were guilty of a deviant abuse of power and breaches of contract.