Two rival campaigns over whether to hand over Braywick Park land to a local football club are set to clash at a meeting next week.

Windsor and Maidenhead’s council cabinet moved in July to not release the land to Maidenhead United – which had been earmarked for the club’s new stadium.

It followed a deal in 2022 for the club to take on the land for a reported £460,000.

Fan of the club Shay Bottomley subsequently launched a petition named ‘move us or lose us’, calling on the council to reverse this decision.

Having garnered far more than the 1,000 signatures required to be considered for council debate, the issue is once again set to be brought before cabinet members next week.

Mr Bottomley said: “On my end, I will be advocating that the current empty space at Braywick Sports and Recreation Ground could be better utilised by allowing Maidenhead United to progress with its ambitions to create new sports facilities at no cost to the council.

“The people who stand to benefit from the project are the residents – thousands of whom could utilise the space on a weekly basis compared to the handful that currently do so – as well as the athletics club whose track is in dire need of replacement.”

However, a rival petition was also set up by resident Douglas Watts, who is campaigning to uphold the cabinet’s July decision in a bid to protect the town’s green space.

He said: “I remain hopeful that, through a fair and reasoned discussion, common sense will prevail, and decisions will be made in the best interest of our community.”

According to the Royal Borough Council’s website, the counter-petition currently has just over 1,000 signatures, while the ‘move us or lose us’ petition has more than 2,100.

The debate over Braywick Park land comes amid Maidenhead United’s plan to move from their historic York Road ground – which is believed to be the oldest continuously used football ground in the world.

Councillors will consider two options presented in the officers’ report at next week’s cabinet meeting, which are whether to agree to release the land or maintain the July decision not to.

Both petitions are included in the report pack for the meeting.

The meeting, which will be the last cabinet meeting of 2023, will be held on Wednesday, December 13.