Football stadium expansion plan approved

The Magpies played their first match at York Road in 1871

Hundreds of new seats can be installed at a Berkshire football stadium after a plan was approved.

Maidenhead United will be able to add a total of 528 new seats in its north and south stands at York Road.

The club plays in the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and finished in 14th place last season.

The permission for ground improvements was given after the club’s move to a new ground at Braywick Park was blocked by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in 2023.

The club finished the 2023/24 season in 14th place in the National League

York Road is thought to be the oldest senior football ground in the world to be continually used by the same club.

The Magpies played their first game there in February 1871.

Work will include 304 seats built at the north end of the ground, close to the Canal End, and another 224 in the corner of its Railway Stand.

An area for wheelchair users and disabled people, disabled toilets, a changing block and improved floodlights also got permission from the council on 24 June.

The club previously hoped to move to a new ground at Braywick Park

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead – then led by the Conservatives – formally agreed to release the land at Braywick Park to the club for £460,000 in 2022.

But the plan collapsed in July 2023 when Liberal Democrat and Borough First independent councillors decided not to dispose of the land over concerns about the loss of space.

In March, club chairman Peter Griffin said a move was still the most “sensible and suitable” option for it.

But he said there was no other option other than to continue the York Road redevelopment.

Similar plans were approved in February 2019, but the latest version includes improved facilities for disabled fans.