Hearts have taken another giant step towards selling Tynecastle with a possible long-term move to Straiton, near Edinburgh, one of the options back on the agenda.

The club are trawling around looking for a site for a new stadium and a meeting last night discussed the controversial proposal to decamp to the Midlothian site.

It was one of several looked over by a working party chaired by Lord Macaulay which has the task of finding a ground for the club by the end of December. Straiton's inclusion in the process will send shudders down the spines of the Tynecastle faithful as well as causing concern for Hibs

supporters.

Straiton was the proposed site for a possible shared stadium between the Edinburgh clubs only a year ago until Hibs pulled out. George Foulkes, the Hearts chairman, was trying to play down its inclusion in the list of possible sites and said others were being looked at including one at Danderhall in Midlothian.

Hearts have agreed to spend another year at Tynecastle, which, in the most unlikely of all the scenarios, could be redeveloped as a new stadium, but are set to move to Murrayfield as tenants of the Scottish Rugby Union the year after. They are likely to remain there until a new ground is complete.

Foulkes said: ''Lord Macaulay is chairing what is an independent group and it is important they are given a free hand in the process. It is important that no option is ruled out and that the group has a free rein to assess everything submitted to them. No significance should be attached to any idea being considered by the working party.''

A Hibernian spokesman said last night they had made it clear that ground sharing at Straiton was off their agenda and they had invited Hearts to share Easter Road.

There is now an inevitability about Hearts moving from Tynecastle, despite Foulkes yesterday insisting they didn't have to sell their ground by the end of the month. His denial came after a statement released by the Stock Exchange suggested any extra borrowing was subject to finding a buyer for the stadium before August 31.

''The availability of the revised facility is subject to certain pre-conditions, principally the execution on or before 31 August 2004 of an agreement for the sale by Hearts of Tynecastle Stadium,'' said the statement.

Despite that, Foulkes claimed nothing had changed. ''Things are exactly the same as before in that no irrevocable decision needs to be made before the end of the year,'' said Foulkes.''If we need extra borrowing from September 1 then by that time we will have to have made a decision to authorise the sale of the ground, but not an irrevocable decision to sell it.''

It is only seems a matter on time before they formally make such a decision with strong suggestions that they will decide to authorise the sale at a board meeting on Wednesday. Certainly, despite Foulkes' bullish comments, with debts of around (pounds) 17m and the bank breathing down their necks it looks apparent it is just a case of when rather than if Tynecastle is sold to developers.

A spokesman for Halifax/

Bank of Scotland said they were committed to supporting the football industry. ''We will always support our club customers with lending,'' said a spokesman. ''All we would ask is that their business plan stacks up and that will enable us to continue lending.''