Fleetwood Town expansion plans passed
Wyre Borough Council has granted consent for Fleetwood Town FC's £4m redevelopment of the East Stand at Highbury football stadium.
Preston-based specialist sport architects Frank Whittle Partnership designed the new 2,000-seat stand, which will form the centrepiece of the new Highbury.
The three-tier East Stand, off Nelson Road, will contain five executive boxes, a lounge, facilities to serve the adjacent Memorial Park pitches and an IT suite. It will include the club's own changing rooms, administration offices, physiotherapy and kit rooms and club shop.
Work is expected to begin shortly on the new stand; the fourth new stand to be built at Highbury in recent years. The plans mark the final phase of the Blue Square North League club's project to increase the capacity of Highbury stadium to 5,000, in order to meet Football League requirements.
Fleetwood Town has risen rapidly through the non-league ranks and is currently pressing for promotion to the national Football Conference, one step below the Football League. If they gain promotion it will be the club's fourth step up in six seasons.
Brent Clayton, a partner at FWP, said: "Fleetwood Town is ambitious and wants to be a Football League club sooner rather than later. Our expertise in designing modern sports stadia helps a club grow on and off the pitch.
"The vision of the club, which we have helped them realise, is for greater community and corporate involvement to give Fleetwood Town the status and facilities necessary to compete at higher levels in football."
FWP designed Preston North End's rebuilt Deepdale. Fleetwood Town was advised by Paul Walton of De Pol Associates, a Preston-based planning consultancy.
Come on you Cod Army!
By Mac
Where is all the money coming from on the crowds they get?
By A
why is their not any mention whatsoever of using this new stand for premises for a gas selling company, I suppose they just forgot to mention that on the application, oh wait no they are pretending that the 1st floor is purely for the fc administration NOT so it seems they should be paying business rates x2!!!!
By Concerned member of the public
continued, also the premises are also renting rooms out for parties which exceed the licencing hours way past 1am disturbing the close neighbours with screaming and shouting from drunk inconsiderate party goers!!!
By Concerned member of the public