Neighbours in East Reading are beginning to speculate about what has happened to a possible plan to build 100 homes on a current playing field.

The Morgan Road Playing Field is currently owned by Reading School, a selective grammar school for boys  in Erleigh Road.

The field in Morgan Road is used for football and other outdoor sports.

But in late 2020, Reading School began a consultation on selling part of it to fund enhanced indoor sporting facilities and improved pitches, including a 3G pitch at the Morgan Road site.

Neighbours have speculated that the field could be turned over to a developer to build around 100 homes or apartments on it.

Concerns about a future apartment development have been expressed by the Save Morgan Road Playing Fields group, which has a presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Recently, the group has engaged in a leafleting campaign in an attempt to rally neighbours against homes being built on the site.

The leaflet states: “Since the 2020 PR exercise, there has been complete radio silence.

“So have they abandoned the scheme? Definitely not.”

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Reading School has been accused of ‘saying nothing’ and ‘avoiding public debate’ about the the future of the playing field until a formal planning application is submitted.

The group claim a developer has ‘signed up’ and is likely to apply to build 100 apartments in blocks 3-4 storeys tall, with approximately 130 parking spaces.

They claim to have obtained this information in a Freedom of Information request, according to the campaign leaflet.

Campaigners also state a 100 home development would be worth £4.5 million.

The leaflets were delivered to around 1,000 homes in the area in August.

However, the prospect of homes being built on the field is only speculation at the moment, as no buyer for the land has been selected yet.

In December 2020, it was reported that the Abbey School had expressed interest in purchasing the part of the field that’s for sale and retaining it for sports use.

The Abbey School is an independent selective school for girls in Kendrick Road.

READ MORE: Reading School could sell playing fields to Abbey School following concern

Responding to the claims made by the campaign group,  Ashley Robson, the headmaster of Reading School, said: “We understand that there has been concern from some local residents expressed on a Facebook group in relation to the development on land located on Morgan Road currently owned by Reading School.

“We do not recognise some of the claims made on the Facebook group.

“However, we can confirm that permission has been granted by the Secretary of State to sell a small proportion of the land and that any potential

proceeds will be used to fund much needed upgrades to Reading School sports facilities.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has attempted to contact the Save Morgan Road Playing Fields but so far has been unsuccessful.