SECTIONS of the controversial Mapledurham Playing Fields will be dug up as part of an archaeological survey, the council has revealed.

Reading Borough Council’s Mapledurham Playing Fields Trustees sub-committee recently approved a landscape masterplan for the site after it agreed it was the best permanent destination for the Heights Free School.

Now, architectural experts will carry out a survey on the site, which will see up to 30 two-metre wide trenches dug up.

Council chiefs assured the authority will try to minimise the impact on sporting teams which use the site.

A spokesman said: “The council is now working closely with Berkshire Archaeology to survey and record the archaeological landscape of the fields.

“Visitors to the fields this month may notice a series of exploratory trenches appearing from Monday 23rd July. Up to thirty, two-metre wide trenches are likely to be dug across the site and the work will take about three weeks.

The work will contribute to the archaeological understanding of the area, recording any findings and, as is standard in any pre-development work, it will inform the planning submission for the future landscape works agreed by the sub-committee.”

Two trial soakaway test pits will also be dug and water tankers will be deployed to test the drainage capability of the land.

It is possible that it could lead to a planning application to install drainage to an area of the sports turf.

Councillor Debs Edwards, chair of The Mapledurham Playing Fields Trustees sub-committee, said: “We are working proactively with Berkshire Archaeology, the statutory planning consultee on archaeology matters within the county, to ensure this site has a thorough archaeological survey before we move on to the next stage of preparatory landscape work.

"It will be fascinating to see what historical information the survey will reveal about how the land was used in the past.

“The site investigation work taking place this month forms part of the pre-work leading up to a planning submission for the landscape works on this site, as agreed by the sub-committee.

"The current preparation work is estimated to last around three weeks, with the planning application potentially submitted early 2019.”