Accrington Stanley Football Club are set to give a boost to sport in the area after being given the nod to build an all-weather soccer pitch at their ground.

The proposed pitch, which will be built on a site next to the main playing field on land currently used for parking, is set to cost the club upwards of £50,000.

It will be used both as a training facility for the club and as a free facility for use by local schools and sports clubs.

The club is proposing to hire a qualified coach to provide supervised sports sessions.

The successful application, passed at a meeting of Hyndburn Borough Council's Development Service's Committee yesterday, is the second time Accrington Stanley have proposed an all-weather pitch.

A similar bid two years ago was refused on the grounds of noise and light pollution.

But an amended plan, including building a 10ft-high wall to protect nearby houses from noise, convinced councillors to pass it.

Hours of use for the pitch will also be restricted. from 8am to 9pm from Monday to Saturday with no use allowed on Sundays and public holidays. After the meeting the chairman of Accrington Stanley Football Club, Eric Whalley, said he was delighted with the news: "We are very pleased at the decision as this gives us an opportunity to build a facility not just for the club but to bring football to the community and to give children a chance to play free of charge."

Commercial director John De-Maine added: "We are ecstatic that this has been passed and that we can bring an all-weather pitch to the club and to help the youth of Accrington.

"We do not wish to inconvenience the community in any way and the area will be properly policed and looked after. There has been a football pitch on the site since 1940 and this new development will give people the chance to enjoy themselves at sport."