Reading FC plans new training ground in Wokingham

Reading Football Club has agreed to buy nearly 120 acres in the Bearwood Estate to build a new training ground.

The land, formerly belonging to the Royal Merchant Navy School Foundation, will become home for Reading FC's first team and academy.

Plans have been drawn up for 15 pitches on the Wokingham site, with purpose-built indoor facilities.

A full planning request will be submitted to Wokingham Borough Council in the near future.

The sale will be finalised on receipt of planning permission.

In a statement, the club said the move to a new training ground was a "hugely positive step in the right direction".

The Royal Merchant Navy School Foundation said the sale was part of a strategic decision to sell off land to obtain funds to focus on charity work.

The foundation is a national children's educational charity, providing funding for education for "needy" British children of Merchant Navy seafarers, professional sea-going fishermen and RNLI lifeboat crew members.