Football coming home for town with £4m stadium plan

42 minutes ago

Owen SennittNorfolk

News image — What the new Gorleston FC grounds could look like

Gorleston Football Club/Chaplin Farrant A computer graphic showing what the Gorleston Football Club's 3G pitch could look like, with a green pitch, players on the field and a spectator stand. — What the new Gorleston FC grounds could look like

A football club has been granted permission to build a £4m stadium on grounds it used to call home for more than 100 years.

Councillors approved Gorleston FC's plans to return to its traditional Recreation Ground home in a project that will see an artificial 3G pitch, spectator stand and clubhouse built.

Prior to the decision by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, the scheme had garnered more than 500 letters of support - but there was also fierce opposition from locals who worried about parking and the loss of access to the ground.

Celebrating the news, the club said in a statement it was a "huge milestone" for the team and wider community.

The club added: "[This will bring] us one step closer to creating a fantastic new facility that will support football, sport, health, wellbeing and community activities for people of all ages."

Gorleston FC A football stand can be seen with lighting on posts next to it, with a clubhouse in the background on a football pitch — What the old spectator stand at Gorleston's Recreation Ground looked like before the team moved in the 1980s to Emerald Park

The club, known as The Greens, played at the Recreation Ground for nearly a century between 1889 and 1982, before moving to Emerald Park.

The men's side play in the Isthmian League North Division - the eighth tier of English football - but have effectively been homeless for the past four years after the Emerald Park owners decided to convert it to housing.

Gorleston FC A woman and child play on a football pitch, with spectator stands to the left visible, in an old photograph from the 1980s — Gorleston FC left the Recreation Ground in the 1980s but the club will now return to its original home

During that time, the men's first team played home games at Lowestoft Town FC in the 2022–23 season and later at The Wellesley in Great Yarmouth.

The former Emerald Park football ground also suffered a major fire in 2022, which was investigated as an arson attack.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service A football club building can be seen on fire, with firefighters tackling the blaze by pouring water from a hose over it — The former Emerald Park stadium was destroyed in a suspected arson attack

The plans to return were widely supported but were also met with stiff opposition and a campaign group was launched to stop the scheme.

Chrissie Harris, who opposed aspects of the project as part of the campaign group, Red Card to the Recreation Ground Takeover, said they believed the football club expansion would have a "profound impact... on our daily lives".

At a meeting on Wednesday night, 10 councillors voted to approve, with one voting against the project.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A historic covered grandstand with ornate ironwork overlooks a sports field and running track. Weathered wooden benches line the foreground, while a small “Tea Hut” kiosk sits beside the structure under a dramatic, overcast sky. — Gorleston has been playing at Great Yarmouth Town's Wellesley ground in recent years

Gorleston FC A digital image of a building, described as a 'community hub', situated next to a football pitch, with paving around it and people visiting the site — What the community hub building could look like at Gorleston Recreation Ground

The club added that the plans would provide new opportunities for players, families and local residents, creating a "stronger hub at the heart of our community".