VINCE FINALLY GETS GO-AHEAD FOR ECO-FRIENDLY FOOTBALL STADIUM

Forest Green Rovers football club has won the go-ahead for its ecofriendly 5,000-seater wooden stadium alongside the M5.

Stroud District Council’s planning committee voted six to four in favour of an outline application which was rejected at the first attempt in June 2019.

Eco Park, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, will be a state-of-the-art structure at Junction 13 near Eastington, along with landscaped parking and two pitches, one of which will be available to the local community.

Club Chairman Dale Vince (and Ecotricity boss) said it was “the right decision” following a five-year journey through the planning process. “This is a great project for Stroud,” he added.

It is expected to be at least three years until the League Two side moves from its home at New Lawn in Nailsworth.

The current ground is powered by renewable energy, recycles rainwater and serves nothing but vegan food. The new one is expected to be the ‘greenest’ in the world.

The planning application was supported by Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership which said it would bolster the local economy, training opportunities and links to colleges, but there were objections from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, Eastington Parish Council and some district councillors.

The original submission included an eco technology park which was subsequently removed.

Arlington proposes new logistics park alongside Madejski stadium

Developer Arlington has submitted an outline planning application to Reading Borough Council for a 162,250 sq ft warehouse logistics park close to the Madejski Stadium.

The 8.5 acre site, next to Reading International Logistics Park at Junction 11 of the M4, will provide four industrial/ warehouse units, ranging from 24,150 sq ft to 69,070 sq ft, plus 145 parking spaces.

It offers design and build options from 20,000 to 120,000 sq ft.

The site was once earmarked for a substantial office scheme.

The development area, three miles from Reading town centre, is already home to businesses and distribution occupiers including Tesco, DPD, DHL, Yodel, Argos and food service company 3663.

The Centre for Cities Outlook 2018 report lists Reading as second in the UK for wages, behind only London. The town also ranked in the top three for jobs, high skills, productivity and business start-ups.

Letting agents for Reading International Logistics Park are Lambert Smith Hampton and Haslams Chartered Surveyors.