Football stadium greenlit for permanent expansion

A football stadium in Oldham has been given the green light to permanently extend its seating and food offer.

The Vestacare Stadium on Whitebank Road, Limeside, sought permission from Oldham council to keep four containers and a new seating area, after they were granted temporary permission in 2021.  

The home of Avro FC, a local team in the Northern Premier League Division One, the owners noted the structures ‘serve a functional purpose’ for the sports club and ‘do not unduly impact on the openness of the greenbelt’ that surrounds them. 

Two of the containers are in use as changing rooms, one for storage and the last serves as a food and drinks kiosk in lieu of a food truck. The temporary structures have been in situ for a number of years to support the running of sporting events at the stadium, according to a town planner. 

The application also included a proposal to erect a 4.2 metre high canopy over the outdoor seating area ‘to protect attendees from the elements’. 

The stadium, which is partly on council-owned land, has previously raised some concerns among locals, with three neighbours objecting to the application on account of noise and traffic concerns. 

But Oldham councillors granted permission at a planning meeting on Wednesday, August 13, after a very brief discussion. 

The site is located on greenbelt land, and Crompton councillor Dave Murphy argued that giving permanent permission to temporary structures could be interpreted as ‘building on the greenbelt’. But a planning officer noted in his report that the provision of outdoor sporting and related facilities was permissible under planning rules. 

The officer concluded: “Notwithstanding its location within the Green Belt, the proposed development is considered acceptable in principle given that it does not include the erection of any structure that could lead to any harm to the openness of the Green Belt neither would it lead to a loss of the playing field.”