Judge to rule on Newbury football ground pitch battle

The battle over the future of the former football ground in Newbury’s Faraday Road has now gone to the High Court.

The judge is now considering both sides of the argument, and is due to decide in three weeks time.

Community football groups hired top legal help in the form of Kings Counsel to fight their case at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

The legal fees were funded by crowd sourcing.

The court session was about whether West Berkshire had played by the planning rules – by agreeing to replace the old ground with a new ground at Newbury Rugby Club in Monks Lane.

West Berkshire Council owns the Faraday Road pitch, and stopped play there in 2018.

The original plan was to develop it with flats as part of the London Road Industrial Estate regeneration. The council then changed its mind, and instead decided the pitch site would be better suited to more office and industrial space.

“They have wasted so much tax payers’ money on legal cases and consultancies and this has got no further forward,” said Paul Morgan from the Newbury Community Football Group (NCFG), which has consistently lobbied against the council’s plans.

Lee McDougall of the NCFG added: “We want this ground retained for football. The council should have had a proper replacement pitch before closing this.

“Logic is defied now because it has become a point of principle. In local politics I guess people don’t like to admit they are wrong.”

The council remains steadfast in its view that the pitch at Monks Lane, to be shared with Newbury Rugby Club, is good news for the town.

It plans to spend millions on a new 3G pitch with clubhouse and stands but cannot put spades in the ground until the outcome of the court case is known.

“We can’t get on and do that because of this court case,” said Graham Bridgman (Con, Tilehurst), deputy leader of the council.

“Once we get the judgement, and I very much trust it will go in favour of the council, we will get on and build that facility.”