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Bristol Rovers’ dream of a new stadium is a step closer to reality after South Gloucestershire planning officers recommended the plans for approval.
Plans for the scheme on land next to the University of the West of England will be considered by councillors next Thursday.
If approved, both Rovers and Bristol Rugby could be playing home matches at ‘The UWE’ at the start of the 2014/15 season.
The planned 21,700-capacity stadium is designed to make use of the sloping ground to minimise its height and the impact on the local skyline and reduce light and noise pollution.
It would include an extensive club shop, banqueting and hospitality suite, convenience store, gym, jogging track and teaching space.
Conditions attached to the plans include a restriction on the number of open air music concerts to three a year.
Developers have pledged to spend £140,000 on new traffic measures and resident parking zones while other conditions include CCTV in the area and a pledge that hedgehogs on the site should be safeguarded.
South Gloucestershire Council said last year it welcomed, in principle, plans for the new stadium.
The new ground will be financed in part by the sale of Rovers’ Memorial Stadium in Horfield to Sainsbury’s where the supermarket giant wants to develop a 50,000 sq ft store, up to five small retail units and a ‘home zone’ with 68 homes ranging from 3-bedroom town houses to flats.
Rovers chairman Nick Higgs said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the football club and the South West as a whole, which will benefit so many people.
“We believe this new stadium will not only benefit Bristol Rovers and Bristol Rugby Club, but also the wider community.”
