Green energy company Ecotricity has submitted fresh plans to build a new stadium for football club Forest Green Rovers and a green tech business park in Gloucestershire.
The Stroud-based business, which is owned by the League Two side’s chairman Dale Vince, has said its proposed Eco Park development, could bring £150m a year to the local economy and create around 5,000 jobs.
The company said the sustainable site, which when finished is expected to self-generate over 80% of all energy used, could create £2m per year in business rates for Stroud District Council.
The full plans for the site located off junction 13 of the M5 include:
- A 5,000 capacity wooden stadium for Forest Green Rovers, which previously gained outline planning permission in December 2019;
- A new training facility for the club, backed by sustainability specialist investment firm Candriam, which would allow it to train in the area for the first time since it became professional and bring its youth, academy, women’s and first team together;
- 38,000 sq mt office space and 18,000 sq mt industrial space intended for companies working in the zero carbon economy;
- A hotel, shared car park and sheltered housing;
- A commitment to increase existing biodiversity by 12%, including enclosing the stadium in a parkland setting with more than 2km of new hedgerows, several thousand new trees, wetland and a canal.
The company said it had been working with Stroud District Council to ensure its plans were aligned with the council’s Local Plan Review, and Gloucestershire LEP GFirst’s intention to bring green industries into the M5 growth zone.
Subject to planning approval, Ecotricity said it hoped to begin work on initial training facilities this spring. Ahead of construction, an archaeological survey and dig - set to last between three to four months - has begun on the site to look for Roman artefacts.
In a post on Twitter, Mr Vince said the Local Plan Review should be completed “around Autumn time” and the company was hopeful it could outline permission for the whole development “this time next year.”
Some big news about EcoPark - and there’s a press release here too - https://t.co/VXQT7gH6k8 pic.twitter.com/anPALH4lFY
— Dale Vince (@DaleVince)
Mr Vince said: “It’s taken a long time to get here, but Eco Park and the local plan are now aligned and we are measurably closer to being able to start work.
“With Eco Park we’ll be able to properly push the boundaries of sustainable development. The beating green heart of this project will be the lowest carbon football stadium in the world ever, at least since the Romans invented concrete – which is fitting given we've got Roman remains on the site.
“We’re hoping to get to work on training facilities in the next couple of months - and ultimately create a fantastic facility for all elements of the FGR football family to train together.”
Nailsworth-based Forest Green Rovers have previously been recognised by the United Nations for a series of renewable energy achievements.
The club is powered entirely by wind and solar energy generated by Ecotricity, and is widely considered to be the first professional football club to offer fans, players and staff an exclusively vegan matchday menu.
Last year Forest Green became the first British sports organisation to sign the Climate Pledge, an initiative led by e-commerce giant Amazon, which invites some of the world’s biggest businesses to commit to reducing net carbon emissions to zero by 2040.
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