A new indoor sporting facility backed by Reading Football Club could be coming to Winnersh.

Plans for an indoor sports facility to be built at The Forest School, as well as a means of access and ancillary outbuildings, were given the nod at a Wokingham Borough Council planning meeting on Wednesday.

The club has a strong link with The Forest School and has seen multiple ex-students coming through the ranks, including Jake Cooper and James Henry. 

The dome will have a floor area of 10,000sq m, and will feature a full size astroturf pitch, which meets FIFA quality standards.

Mary Sandell, headteacher at Forest School, said: "We educate their academy boys in years 10 and 11, so we have a very good relationship with Reading FC. 

"It's largely for that reason that they want their training dome to be on our site. 

"We want it to be on our site because it's a fantastic facility for our boys. We've got planning permission but that's as far as it's got. 

"There are all sorts of useage agreements that we're nowhere near signing yet, with something like that the school will have access to a number of hours, as will the club, as will the community, so it's just agreeing that now."

The dome will only reflect light into the interior, meaning there will be no pollution for local residents, according to Nina Sharp, who spoke in favour of the application. 

Ms Sharp noted the close working relationship between Reading Football Club and The Forest School when arguing for the application.

It is unknown as of yet how much the development will cost, but is the second investment the club has made in the community this year after plans in April were finalised for a £500m development at their Madjeski Stadium home.

An ancillary building is a small off-building for the pitches, these could potentially include an office building and reception for the complex.