English League One football club Plymouth Argyle has received the green light for the development of the Mayflower grandstand at its Home Park ground.
The Plymouth City Council planning committee agreed to grant permission for the proposed development yesterday (Thursday).
The work will include a refurbished grandstand, as well as new player facilities, new offices and classroom, new bars, retail and ticketing functions and a conference and banqueting facility.
In addition, Home Park’s seating capacity will increase to 18,600 in stage one and more than 20,000 in stage two. Its current capacity is around 16,300 seats.
The wider development includes a new international size ice rink, a hotel, a gym, offices, and restaurants. It is expected to employ 400 additional people once completed and more during the construction phase.
Argyle chairman James Brent said: “This is a very exciting day, a very exciting conclusion.
“We still need to build it, but many thanks to all who have helped. There is great excitement, and we’re looking forward to 2018 and beyond.
“It’s been a very long journey, and there have been ups and downs.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback and made a lot of changes. The broad scheme remains the same in terms of what the ambition is, but we have made improvements. With these things, consultation and constructive feedback make it better in the end.
“We now have a consented plan for a great asset to the football club, and to the city of Plymouth, and we need to focus on delivering it.”
The grandstand development is being funded by co-owner and vice-chairman of the club Simon Hallet and his wife, Jane.
