The speculated front-runner to buy Reading Football Club may have aspirations to develop land in Wokingham that is currently home the club’s training facility at Bearwood Park.
Last week, The Sun published a story saying how it had learned that Paul Taylor, a bricklayer turned banker and financier from south London, has been in secret negotiations to buy Reading FC for several months.
The club confirmed in an official statement on December 30 that they remain in negotiations with a prospective buyer. However, the identity of that buyer cannot be revealed by the club as they stated: “At this stage confidentiality must remain in place for the benefit of all parties.
Taylor, who once tried to buy Chelsea FC, was reported to be attracted to the club by the ‘.. development potential ..’ of the club’s 120-acre training ground in Bearwood.
The national tabloid reported: “Reading’s large real estate portfolio makes it an attractive deal ..”
Whilst the open fields off Mole Road in Sindlesham may seem like an attractive proposition for any future buyer, Wokingham Borough Council has been quick to point out that there is no guarantee that any future planning application for residential development would be approved.
Stephen Conway, leader of Wokingham Borough council, said the park land that forms the training facility, and was most recently a golf club, was protected from future development.
He told Wokingham Today: “There are conditions attached to the original permission to use the land as a training ground.
“The use is specifically limited to Reading Football Club, and for a training ground, and for no other use.
“These restrictive conditions were applied to preserve the area from inappropriate development, given its status as historic parkland.”
The training ground lies directly opposite what is the boundary for the controversial Hall Farm development, also known as the Loddon Garden Village, that when completed will see the creation of almost 4,000 homes.
Wokingham MP Clive Jones, reacting to the news, told Wokingham Today: “I really hope there will be no building on the training ground.”
Yuan Yang, MP for Earley and Woodley, has also been a vocal supporter of finding a new buyer for the club.
She told Wokingham Today: “I’ll continue to watch the process closely.
“It’s vital that Reading fans have their concerns addressed, and that the club gets the stability it needs.”
The sale of the prestigious Bearwood training ground to Rob Couhig, former owner of Wycombe Wanderers, collapsed last year.
It emerged that a condition of planning consent for the facility, referred to as clause four, stipulated how it was personal to Reading Football Club for the purposes outlined in the planning application only.
Clause four also noted how the local planning authority, when granting permission had regard to the special circumstances of this case, being the special requirements of Reading Football Club within the Borough,
It added how it wished to have the opportunity of exercising control over any subsequent alternative use in the interests of the amenities of the area which may be more harmful to the countryside.
Taylor declined to comment when approached by The Sun.
Reading FC also declined to comment.
