Green light for Emirates Old Trafford extension

Plans to make Emirates Old Trafford the biggest cricket ground outside London and extend the adjacent Hilton Garden Hotel have been approved by Trafford Council.

The stand will take the capacity of Emirates Old Trafford to 26,700, overtaking both the Rose Bowl in Southampton and Edgbaston ground in Birmingham.

The development includes plans for a new 4,850-seat stand, which will replace the existing Red Rose Suite, as well as a 4,000 sq ft members suite, 3,900 sq ft  ticket office, a heritage centre and shop that will face directly on to Brian Statham Way.

There will be a ticket office on the ground floor and a members suite on the upper floors.

In addition to the grandstand, the application details plans to extend the ground floor and first floor of the existing Hilton Garden Inn hotel.

A six-storey extension is also proposed on the east side of Brian Statham Way; this will be a standalone block next to UA92 on the site of the former Kelloggs building, which will be linked to the existing hotel by a glazed walkway.

The new block will provide 109 additional rooms across five storeys of hotel accommodation above the ground floor, which includes units for retail and restaurants, and a single-storey atrium providing a larger restaurant dining area.

The plans coincide with the wider transformation of the borough, including the Town Hall and surrounding areas into a new civic quarter.

Daniel Gidney, chief executive at Lancashire Cricket, said: “The decade-long £60m redevelopment of the ground was so that the club could host major competitions, and major matches as it has done in 2019 and will continue to do over the next five years and beyond.

“The new stand and hotel extension will complete the redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford. We’re committed to making Lancashire Cricket the best it possibly can be and position it as an unrivalled venue for business, sport and leisure.”

The professional team includes Chroma Consulting, BDP, Marston & Grundy, Planit-IE, Exterior Architecture, Cundall, Virtual Planit, Gardiner & Theobald and Paul Butler Associates.

Meanwhile, Trafford Housing Trust’s plans for 30 affordable homes at a 32,000 sq ft plot in Timperley were also approved at the same meeting.