Kirkham plan includes new home for AFC Fylde
Plans have been unveiled for an £18m sports and science park in Kirkham which would include a new stadium for non-league football club AFC Fylde.
Subject to consent, the mixed-use development would take place on the 32-acre Mill Farm site off junction three of the M55 at Kirkham.
It includes community sports and education facilities as well as new retail, leisure and commercial development.
A new company, Mill Farm Ventures, has been created to develop the plan on land formerly used for commercial tree production.
The masterplan for the proposed development has been produced by the Frank Whittle Partnership, Preston.
The Mill Farm site has been allocated for employment and leisure uses in the emerging Fylde Local Plan.
Proposals for the site include a large indoor sports science building providing a range of educational and sporting activities for local schoolchildren.
There will also be a number of state-of-the-art all weather pitches for community use, including full-size floodlit football pitch.
The development includes a food store, a distribution centre with associated office space, a 63-bed hotel, petrol station and a public house.
The new AFC Fylde stadium would provide space for 6,000 people and include a 2,000 all-seater main stand with supporters' bar, executive boxes and a function room.
Unveiling the plans, which will be submitted to Fylde planners after a period of public consultation, David Haythornthwaite, chairman of AFC Fylde, said: "The Fylde sports and science park is an ambitious investment in the local economy and has been put together by a team of experts from Lancashire."
The Fylde sports and science park masterplan will be guided through the public consultation and planning process by Paul Walton, director of PWA Planning, Preston.
He said: "This mixed-use planning application represents the culmination of efforts by an experienced team of consultants."
Public consultation will begin later this month with a number of local meetings planned.
