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A two-year battle to stop a developer putting 121 houses on a school playing fields has suffered a major setback after planning permission was granted.

Council planners voted to approve Persimmon Homes' development of the Martineau Centre, in Balden Road, despite turning down similar proposals two years ago.

It means that much of the centre will be demolished - leaving only the historic clock tower building as a community building - and most of the playing field developed.

The award of planning permission comes just a month after it emerged the city council, which had used the former school as offices, had to sell the site following the award of planning permission.

Opponents of the housing scheme say the area has a shortage of playing fields and could do with the school being reopened as others are full.

But council planners were told there had been no objections from the education department over school places, and no complaints from Sport England over the loss of playing fields as the developer agreed to pay for a new astroturf pitch at Lordswood School nearby.

Speaking for objectors, Coun Caroline Badley (Lab, Quinton) said: "The planning committee has rejected these plans twice before and this new application is not significantly different so they should reject it again.

"We are facing the loss of playing pitches and we already have a shortage in this area."