New eco wooden football stadium to be built

A new “environmentally friendly” timber football stadium is to be built for the "greenest team in the world".

Ecotricity's build will include an all-wooden 5,000 seat stadium for Forest Green Rovers (FGR), 1,700 parking spaces and a business park near junction 13 of the M5 in Gloucestershire.

On Tuesday, the layout, scale and external appearance of the stadium were approved by Stroud District Council.

At the meeting, Colin Peake, a life member of Forest Green Rovers, said it will make a "massive statement" to visitors.

FIFA described the football club as the "greenest team in the world" after its players started wearing kit made of recycled plastic and coffee grounds and the club introduced a vegan-only menu.

The United Nations also declared that FGR was the world's first carbon-neutral football club for its eco measures.

Under the plans, the current stadium will be demolished to make way for 95 homes, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The new stadium has been designed with climate change in mind and integrates measures of energy efficiency and resilience against extreme weather conditions, the meeting was told.

“Whoever has ownership or takes over the running of this football club since 1889, all of us, including Dale Vince, are just temporary custodians," Mr Peake said.

“But each and every one of us has had the same objective which is to leave it in a better place for a future generation to enjoy.

“It will make a massive statement to those coming into the district by creating a first impression and a vision of what Stroud is all about."

Councillor Robert Brown said two of the six nearby parish councils have concerns with parking on match days and advised Forest Green Rovers to charge a parking fee which is low enough "so it doesn’t discourage visitors from parking on site”.

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the proposals.

Separate plans to demolish Forest Green Rovers New Lawn Stadium at Forest Green in Nailsworth, to make way for up to 95 new homes were also approved by the committee.

The club was first granted outline planning permission for the 5,000-seat ground in December 2019.

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