NEIGHBOURS in west Reading are being urged to reveal how they would spend a �1.5m cash windfall released by developers in the wake of a controversially scrapped health centre.

Reading Borough Council announced on Monday last week that it was launching a consultation with residents on their priorities for the area after developers David Wilson Homes released Section 106 cash from the collapsed deal for a health clinic at the West Village in Oxford Road.

The deal fell through last year when Berkshire West Primary Care Trust (PCT) controversially axed the plans, and council leader, Cllr Jo Lovelock, described this as "a big disappointment." She added: "The money must be used on community related benefits so we feel it is very important to talk to the local community about how they think the money should be spent, especially as it is now seven years since the last consultation.

"I hope as many people as possible will take part so that the decision about the use of the money can be based on the current views of local residents."

Reading West MP Alok Sharma has been lobbying Cllr Lovelock to invest the cash in improving the area's health services and backed a petition by West Village Residents Association demanding the council confirm this.

The council is expected to approve the consultation at a cabinet meeting tonight, and Cllr Lovelock added: "We will be upfront with people but it is quite complicated to invest in private premises, and the doctor's surgeries are private.

"It would have been much easier to open a health centre on the site, but we are where we are now and we want to hear what people have to say."

If the consultation is approved, drop-in sessions will be held at Battle Library in Oxford Road on Tuesday, April 16, from 11am-1pm and 3-8pm. Questionnaires will also be posted through people's doors and neighbours can make their views known by completing an online survey before Monday, May 6.