TALKS are taking place aimed at relocating Bromsgrove Rovers to a new ground off the A38 by-pass on land purchased last year for close on £500,000, it was claimed this week.

Councillor Peter McDonald (Waseley), the leader of the opposition Labour group on Bromsgrove District Council, says a possible move was discussed in a telephone conversation he had last week with council leader Councillor Dennis Norton (Con-St Johns).

The call was in response to a letter he had sent Cllr Norton some time before seeking clarification on rumours circulating in the town regarding a possible move from the Victoria Ground, the Rovers home since 1910.

Last autumn the Advertiser/ Messenger reported exclusively that the district council, owners of the Victoria Ground, had paid close on £500,000 for six acres of farmland on the corner of Old Burcot Lane and the A38 by-pass, as an investment in its land stocks and as a potential future base for the Greens.

Cllr McDonald said: "I can confirm following the telephone call that negotiations are indeed taking place.

"The Victoria Ground is worth in excess of £5m if it was sold for development and it is important that the public is kept fully informed at each stage of the negotiations."

But Cllr Norton said all he had done was to tell Cllr McDonald that the cabinet, which he heads, had given permission for council chief Bob Lewis to speak to Rovers' chairman Tom Herbert.

It appears that last December Mr Herbert wrote to the authority following the Advertiser/Messenger story to seek clarification on the matter.

Mr Herbert has high expectations for the club but a small fortune would need to be spent on bringing the present ground up to Nationwide Conference standards.

Cllr Norton said he is not aware if Mr Lewis had yet had the meeting.