By Joe McCann
TUESDAY was a red-letter day for Ards FC.
Victory over league leaders Limavady gave the club the first back-to-back wins since September and as supporters celebrated, the ambitious plans for a new 2,000 seater stadium received planning permission.
Councillors on Ards and North Down Council’s Planning Committee unanimously approved the proposal to construct the new stadium on the
Portaferry Road, close to the club’s former Castlereagh Park home which the club left 25 years ago.
The application for the multi- million pound development ticked every box in terms of the environment, planning policy compliance, road safety and access, residential amenity, public safety and drainage and flood risk.
The development includes two new spectator stands, offices, function space, two vehicular entrances, car parking and a top of the range 3G pitch with 24 metre high floodlights.
Under the terms of the club’s lease with the council, the car park will be made available for general public use when not in use for senior matches. A total of 268 car parking spaces with additional four coach parking will be provided.
Club chairman Warren Patton was delighted with the decision adding that it opens up new opportunities for the club.
“We knew it was likely to be accepted, but I was nervous going into the planning meeting as we have had so many disappointments since we left Newtownards 25 years ago,” he told Keith Bailie, of the Belfast Telegraph.
“So to hear it being proposed and passed by the Council was a huge relief. It’s also exciting because it opens up opportunities for us that weren’t there before.”
With planning permission now in the bag, the club faces the task of raising the money to build the stadium. There was disappointment last year when an application for £8.8m was rejected by the Department for Communities’ Northern Ireland Football Fund.
“Obviously life would have been much more straightforward with support from the NI Football Fund, but we’re not going to give up on this,” said Patton.
“There are other grants out there that we can apply for, in terms of public investment. We have always believed that we have an incredibly strong case for support from the public sector, and we will continue to make that case where possible.
“We’re also open to private investment. We have seen the positive impact private investment has had at other clubs, and we’re certainly open to it. There’s an opportunity here to do something pretty special and bring a famous old club home.”
He continued, “I’m not silly, I know that myself and my small board of directors can’t build this ground on our own. We will need help.
“But today, we’re going to celebrate because getting this planning permission has been a long, arduous and costly task. This is the farthest this club has got since it left Castlereagh Park, by some distance.”
