NEWBURY FC could be heading back to their home town after five years in exile.
AFC Newbury were forced to quit the historic Faraday Road ground after losing the lease in 2006, and dropped out of the Wessex Premier Division as a result.
In 2007, local side The Old London Apprentice FC signed a 10-year lease on the ground and renamed themselves Newbury FC.
Now members of the Step 7 Thames Valley Premier League, they played there until 2016, and two years later, West Berkshire Council closed the ground to make way for a proposed Industrial Estate redevelopment.
Now the council has agreed a 40-year deal to develop a new floodlit stadium up to Step 4 standard with a 3G pitch and clubhouse at Newbury Rugby Club, who would then become their landlords.
Work is expected to start next month for it to open by the end of March 2022, bringing senior football back to the town.
