BAMBER Bridge football Club has submitted plans to install a new stand at their Irongate ground - nearly a year after the last one blew down.

And while the new 499-seater stand won't quite turn Irongate into Lancashire's answer to the San Siro, it should help them bring their ground up to the standard required if the team are to be promoted into the Conference.

When Brig last lifted the Unibond Premier Division title in 1996, they missed out on promotion as, although their footballing was up to scratch, their ground wasn't.

Inside the new stand, there will be changing facilities, toilets, referees' room, manager's office as well as a kitchen and a boardroom - fulfilling the requirements laid down by the Conference.

The plans, due to be given South Ribble Borough Council's seal of approval at last night's development services committee, were submitted after months of tough fund-raising. The club has benefited from grants, but officials have had to work hard to make sure they are able to meet their contribution, and work is expected to start in late August, if planning permission is given.

The stand will be sited on the side of the pitch nearest to the railway track.

A South Ribble Borough Council spokesman said: "Neighbours have been notified but no complaints or representations have been received.

"The stand is not visually intrusive and will not disturb the local community through noise, traffic generation or lighting."

A spokesman for the club, off Brownedge Road, Bamber Bridge, said: "We want to make sure everything is up to Conference standard so we don't miss out again."

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