WINSLEY Parish Council is to register its interest as a potential bidder for land used as a village green in response to a Berkshire firm's offer of an "exclusive opportunity" to purchase it.

For generations, children in the village have used the land at Northfield as a play area and as a football field with goalposts.

But parish council chairman Ed Gilby said on Wednesday they have "no intention" of offering the asking price of £75,000 set by the current owners.

Mr Gilby said: "Yes, we would like to be considered as a potential purchaser and will register our interest.

"But we have no intention of offering the asking price for the land. If we make an offer, it will be paltry in comparison to what they want."

Mr Gilby was speaking after Winsley Parish Council discussed its options on Tuesday at a full council meeting.

An open letter sent on behalf of the new owners, BK Land and Estates Ltd, a property and land developer based in Maidenhead, had offered them an "exclusive opportunity" to purchase the land.

Its directors, Murali Bandaru, 39, and Prabhakar Bandaru, 38, suggested that residents should each contribute £82.78 a head to fund the purchase.

BK Land and Estates bought the land at a public auction in London for £66,500 - way above the guide price of £7,500.

Earlier this year, the parish council submitted an Asset of Community Value application, for the local community to be given a chance to purchase the land if it came up for sale. An interim moratorium on the sale is in place until September 27.

Separately, the parish council has also applied to Wiltshire Council to have the land designated as a Town and Village Green to protect it from development.

Meanwhile, there is yet more worry for residents of the Tyning Road area of Winsley when another patch of land was listed for auction.

Wiltshire councillor Johnny Kidney said: "As with the triangle of land opposite Northfield which was listed for auction a couple of months ago, the majority of this latest area to be listed for sale is subject to Public Highways Rights.

"This is another scenario whereby the freehold of highways land is in third party ownership, but it is designated as highway and is maintained as such.

"The land at the end of Fieldins is designated by the local highways authority, Wiltshire Council, as part of the public highway, and it is available for the public to use regardless of the freehold ownership. As with the verge at Northfield, this would continue to be the case whether or not the freehold changes hands.

"As with the triangle of verge opposite Northfield, Winsley Parish Council will be informing the auctioneers of the highways status of the land at the end of Fieldins to ensure that they make this clear within the sales particulars.

"As before, any potential purchasers should be mindful that they will be buying a piece of land that is largely designated as public highway and will remain as such - in other words a rather expensive verge!"

The owners acquired the historic freeholds from the original builders of the Tyning estate and are now looking to sell them on.