A PLAN to build a new football stadium on a town centre common has received a boost after a council decision.

Members of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet agreed on Tuesday that it was not bound by a previous decision to protect land it owns in Old Common Road from development.

As previously reported by The Gazette, the borough council is currently carrying out a fresh review into available sites which could be used by Basingstoke Town Football Club for a new £10million, 5,124-capacity stadium.

The borough council had told the club that it couldn’t support its plans to build a new stadium on the council-owned land in Old Common Road until the autumn after it came to light that a public consultation on the plans could be “vulnerable to legal action” as alternative sites were not included.

Residents and Eastrop councillors thought they had found a breakthrough when they found a decision made by the council’s land and property sub-committee from February 1979, which said that any land left following the construction of the Hilton Hotel should be left undeveloped.

At a meeting on Tuesday night, the borough council’s decision-making Cabinet considered a report on a list of green open spaces across the borough which are set to be protected against development.

The report included legal advice saying the council is not bound by the 1979 decision to leave Old Common undeveloped.

It said that a decision was made by the Cabinet in 2012 to endorse the principle of using the land for a new stadium, adding: “Prior to this decision extensive work had been carried out to establish if there were any legal restrictions on this land that would prevent it being used in this way. Having reconsidered the use to which the land will be put, the council is not bound by the 1979 decision.”

But the Cabinet came under fire for following the legal advice and they were urged to reconsider the advice and protect the Old Common from development, including a new football stadium.

Eastrop resident Lynne Thorne told the meeting: “I must reiterate that I am not against Basingstoke Football Club, I am against any building on the Old Common or War Memorial Park."

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She added: "If the council is not bound by the 1979 decision, then it is not bound by the decision to pursue a discussion with the football club on the Old Common land.”

David Williams, of Crossborough Hill, told the meeting that the council was responsible for disclosing information about disposal of land at less than market value and said he was denied access to financial details on the agreement between the council and football club.

He said that the council could be open to challenge from the local authority ombudsman and the commissioner responsible for the Freedom of Information Act if they approve the recommendation.

Eastrop councillor Stuart Parker added: “Reliance is given to the decision in 2012, however, Councillor Gavin James and I have demonstrated that a report detailing the analysis of sites considered for a football stadium, which clearly showed that the Old Common site scored less against the criteria of suitability.”

Council leader Cllr Clive Sanders said that that the legal advice was not a decision on the Old Common being used by the football stadium and that work is still being carried out to assess sites across the borough which could be used by the club.

Cabinet member for planning and infrastructure, Cllr Mark Ruffell, defended the decision, telling the meeting: “The point I am trying to explain is that we cannot bind our successors and circumstances change.

“What we are doing tonight is saying that we as a council in 2015 value these sites – all of them, even those with exception 10 criteria and value other sites which haven’t yet been put on the list.

“We can’t do more than that. If you were told previous decisions bind the council in perpetuity, you have been told wrong.”

A number of councillors spoke at the meeting to urge the council to consider adding a number of other green spaces to the list.

The Cabinet agreed the current list of sites to be afforded protection, which includes Eastrop Park and Down Grange, and the list will now be considered at a full council meeting at a future date.