SWINDON Town are on the verge of securing a deal that would see them take ownership of the County Ground from the council.

The proposal for a joint venture between the club and its supporters' trust to purchase the stadium for £2.3m.

The club and the fans will both have a 50 per cent stake in the ownership of the stadium - and a development plan that would see £22.5m spent on upgrading two stands and building a hotel and conference facility on the Town End over the next five years was revealed last week.

Swindon Borough Council's cabinet unanimously voted in favour of the plans on Wednesday night, and the decision will now go to the council's scrutiny committee on Monday, March 21. 

Council leader David Renard said he was delighted with the sale.

He said: "These conversations started with the Trust probably about seven years ago, for various reasons it has been put on hold but we are here now. 

"We've now agreed a price which all parties are happy with, and once it is concluded it will be good for the club, the supporters, and the town as a whole, because there will be an opportunity for the joint venture to invest in the ground, something the council hasn't been able to do". 

Coun Renard also said that the supporters' trust can provide a "long-term counterbalance to the owners of the club", and that the joint-venture with a 50-50 share for each party protects the ground and the future of the club, 

He added: "We all know the ground needs investment, we need to provide a better environment for the supporters, of Swindon and visiting supporters, and the joint-venture have some good plans for the future, and I am looking forward to those coming to fruition.

"This is really good for that part of town, because it is a major gateway, and the extra facilities will make the area look nicer but also provide additional resources and opportunities for people to make it much more than a once-a-week or once-a-fortnight event."

Coun Jim Robbins, speaking on behalf of the council's Labour group, also expressed his support for the plans, saying: "We really support this, we think it is a good deal. 

"The best thing we can do as a council is only take decisions in the long-term interest of the club, I think its really refreshing at the moment and I think it's great that the owner and the supporters' trust are clearly working very closely together, but you don't need a long memory to know that's not always been the case."

A press conference is expected to formally announce the sale sometime next week.