THE million pound offer to build The Heights on Mapledurham Playing Fields will be considered by Reading Borough Council.

As trustees of the site through a charitable trust the authority must now work through the legal minefield of whether the sale of land is possible.

Local campaigners claim the council would be breaking a covenant on the land to use it for anything other than recreation.

But head of legal Chris Brooks reminded the packed public gallery at Tuesday night's meeting of The Heights Free School sub-committee that councillors had to make the decision which was in the charity's best interests.

Last month the Education Funding Agency formally submitted a bid to use up 1.23 acres of the playing fields for £1.36m as a permanent site for the school which is currently running on a temporary site in Gosbrook Road.

In the face of a record 31 public questions committee chair Cllr Deb Edwards and Mr Brooks repeatedly laid out the legal processes which will dictate the way the project is moved forward.

Cllr Edwards, said: "This is a clear, transparent and public meeting and they will all be the same.

"This is without any bias, this is not a done deal situation - you are all part of the decision."

Following the committees unanimous approval the council will now seek independent legal and commercial advice, including an assessment on whether the bid is a good offer.

It will then be up to councillors to decide whether to agree, refuse or suggest different terms.

Martin Brommell, chair of the Mapledurham Playing Fields Action Group, called on the committee to "not break our trust" while representatives from the school and parents described it as a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to add new school places and invest further in the park's facilities.

Cllr Edwards added: "I therefore declare that we will take a further look at this proposal in a very open minded and clear way."