Stockport County FC have put their plans to redevelop their home ground to the public as part of a scheme to bring the club back into the Championship.
The Hatters' agreed a 250-year lease for their Edgeley Park stadium back in February, after creating a seven-year vision to return to Championship level when new boss Mark Stott took over in January 2020. Since then, the club have returned to the Football League, after 11 years away, and the have revealed their plans to redevelop the stadium, opening up the proposals for public consultation.
Whilst the plans are still at an "early stage", the club has identified several key areas they want to bring to fans, including extending the North stand to the full length of the pitch, and adding new East and South stands built to the same height as the existing Cheadle End stand, which has already been improved, and will not be touched in the new plans. Changes to the three stands would boost capacity to around 20,000, with additional car parking planned to the rear of the new South stand.
More space for food and drink vendors, flexible workspaces for local businesses within the East stand, and better access for fans on matchdays are also important to the club. However, the big plans for the club won't be coming all at once, with a "phased approach" to the regeneration planned to try and minimise disruption to residents, fans, and local businesses during the work, whilst also working to spread the cost out to limit the financial impact on the club too.
The first stage of the improvements is set to be brought in this season, with a new food court to serve locally sourced street food and drinks. If approved, the area will feature three shipping containers and a stretch tent, catering for around 1,500 fans to draw queues away from the congested Cheadle End concourse which usually sees long queues on matchdays.
Ken Knott, Stockport County FC Non-Executive Chairman, said “Edgeley Park has been our home since 1902 and the Club has been a key part of the community in Stockport for 120 years. With our ambition to play Championship football once again, we’ve got a real opportunity to invest in the stadium and create not just the sporting facilities we need, but to create a ripple effect reaching further into Stockport itself, boosting the town and its economy.
"We know promotion to the Championship will take some time and delivering the emerging plans will also take time; by proposing to deliver new stands in phases, culminating in a final capacity of approximately 20,000 seats, we can reduce the impact on the Club and our neighbours, while still playing at home. Involving our neighbours and supporters early in the process of designing these expansion plans is very important to us. Our aim is to create excitement and ambition not just within the Club, but across Stockport.”
The consultation is the first of two phases, allowing local residents and supporters to come and look at the plans as they develop as well as giving feedback about the ideas. The club is looking to submit planning applications at the end of the year, outlining the entire expansion whilst submitting detailed plans for the East stand, which will be the first stand to be redeveloped. Work will hopefully begin in Summer 2023.
As part of the redevelopment, the club is looking to create a travel plan for fans to encourage them to use "sustainable" modes of transport for matchdays. The club hopes to improve its carbon footprint with the plans, investing in water-saving appliances, have a net zero carbon platform, and supporting the borough's and region's carbon reduction targets.
The first phase of the consultation will see drop in sessions hosted at the stadium over the next few weeks, with sessions on Wednesday September 28 from 10-1pm and 4-6.30pm and from 2-7pm on Thursday, September 29 in the 1883 suite. Another session will be held on Saturday, October 1 from 11-2pm, with staff outside the stadium to greet fans and speak with them ahead of the club's fixture against Walsall, kicking off at 3pm. Feedback can also be given on the Stockport County website, where you can also find more information about the scheme.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
