Ashby de la Zouch Town Council's purchase of the Bath Grounds should be completed early next year.

But a meeting of the council's Parks & Recreation Committee on Monday night said that the deal did not depend on the current owners gaining planning permission for the redevelopment of the Royal Hotel car park and the area behind the cricket club pavilion.

The committee was questioned during the public session at the beginning of the meeting.

A number of members of the public requested an update on the current situation.

An application for the finance required for the council's £630,000 purchase was put in place in March of last year.

Ashby edging closer to safeguarding future of Bath Grounds.

The town council decided to buy the site from owners Oakland Hotels Ltd to make sure the parkland remains a green area for the town.

In June last year, a public consultation was held as part of the council's 'once in a lifetime' bid to secure the future of the Bath Grounds.

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The consultation was centred on an application to gain approval for a loan for the proposed purchase of the grounds - and the increase in council tax needed to repay the annual instalments.

Public consultation to be held as town council aims to secure future of Bath Grounds.

But there was concern expressed at Monday's meeting over why there has been no update since.

The town clerk made it clear that any current negotiations would be confidential, but details would be in the public domain when a deal is put to the council for approval.

Cllr Mike Ball said: "The deal the town council comes to with the owners of the Royal Hotel, takes out the need for 'satisfactory planning permission'. That is not on the table.

"We've got a deal where there is no planning permission needed for us to buy the Bath Grounds.

"The money is in a solicitor's bank account. We're very close, we believe, to securing a deal.

"But legal negotiations between ourselves, the owners and the District Council have been protracted.

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"We have to make sure that, whatever deal we come to, the public gets value for money out of it."

The committee also heard an estimate of the timescale which could see the deal signed off.

Members of the public were told that it would not be completed before the end of December, but the council is hopeful that it should be concluded in early 2022.