The campaign to bring Barnet FC back into the borough will continue – despite the sale of the club’s historic home Underhill.

Club chairman Anthony Kleanthous confirmed last week the site, where the Bees played for 106 years until 2013, has been sold to the Education Funding Agency.

Academy chain Ark is planning to open Ark Pioneer Academy on the site in 2017, which will eventually cater for 1,800 pupils.

But members of the Back 2 Barnet campaign, set up by supporters in 2013, said they will continue to work to get the club “back where it belongs.”

Oliver Deed, 24, said: “Although no-one in the Back 2 Barnet Campaign was surprised about the decision to sell Underhill for development, the significant downdialling of the club owner's commitment to the objective of having a permanent home of the club in Barnet was a big disappointment for those fans who followed the club to the Hive, in good faith, in the expectation that it would be a temporary move.”

He said supporters had seen the Underhill announcement as signalling the end of the road for the campaign, which was not the case.

Mr Deed said: “While we recognise that there remain major challenges in balancing the needs of a professional football club with those of the wider community and the local political agenda, we do not see this as a reason for giving up giving up our ambition to see the eventual return of our club to the community it belongs in.

“The supporters of the Back 2 Barnet campaign don't regard the relationship between the club and the town of its creation as something that can or will be abandoned. The campaign will go on to get Barnet FC back where it belongs.”

Mr Deed said he believed a suitable home can still be found in Barnet.

He added: “We will be working with anyone and everyone who wants to be play a part to secure a social and recreational facility which will give us a permanent base for Barnet FC supporters in the town of Barnet and provide a much needed community hub for other groups who would benefit from the facility.

“Barnet FC belongs in Barnet and that is where it will end up, however long it takes.”

In a statement last week, Mr Kleanthous said: “Barnet will of course always be our true and traditional home, and it goes without saying that everybody connected with the club will always hold dear the countless memories that we have from the unforgettable years at Underhill.

“There can be no doubt that Barnet FC currently find themselves in a much better place than when we left Underhill in April 2013 and hope one day we will return but cannot see this in either the short or medium term."