COUNCILLORS responded with fury after being accused of not caring about the black community over the sale of an iconic building.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) elected to sell the former Central Club site to Redline, as part of a bid to install a seven-storey structure with affordable housing.

All bids will preserve the black history mural and the council will spend around £1m to ensure the landmark is preserved.

However, members of Aspire reacted angrily when they realised their bid had been unsuccessful, using racial slurs before storming out of the council chamber.

Councillor Sophia James said: "The black history mural is an asset of community value. We have had a clear process and conversations.

Reading Chronicle:

"Up until the third sector bidding process we could not have been more transparent about this process.

"It has been assessed and we are going to have an organisation willing to protect the mural and we will still retain some control of this building."

Redline's winning bid includes plans for Reading Between the Lines, a theatre company, to use the ground floor for storage and rehearsal space.

Aspire presented a petition to the council with more than 1,500 signatures after claiming to submit a £10m offer.

As campaigners stormed out of the room, one shouted that the value of the Aspire bid was actually £850,000.

Councillor Jeanette Skeats, who was accused of not caring by the audience members, added: "There is now way I will listen to someone who says I am against black people.

Reading Chronicle:

"You obviously do not know me. I will say this again - I am not against any race or creed."

RBC previously offered more than £200,000 to help fund a community bid, but had to pull council resources after a failed fundraising campaign.

Councillor Tony Page, deputy leader of RBC, said: "Our commitment was renewed up until 2014, but they did not come forward with sufficient funds.

"If most of them had displayed as much enthusiasm then as they did now then they might have been successful.

"They were not involved or showed little interest. We are bent over backwards and nobody could criticise this authority."