Slough Town FC to return home as stadium is approved

Initial plans for the stadium were agreed by the council's planning committee in February

Slough Town FC are to return home after the approval of a new £8.5m stadium.

The Southern League Premier Division side have led a nomadic existence since leaving their former Wexham Park home in Slough at the end of the 2002/03 season.

The club's general secretary, Kay Lathey, said: "We're hugely excited and encouraged by the news".

The new stadium at Arbour Park should be completed for the 2016/2017 season.

Built off Stoke Road before the Slough Crematorium, it will feature stands for 1,950 fans, home and away team changing rooms, a ticket office, a hospitality area, floodlights and turnstiles.

Alongside the football ground will be an artificial 3G football and rugby pitch for community use, as well as a car park with more than 100 spaces.

Ms Lathey said: "We look forward to working closely with the council in the coming months as there is obviously still a long way to go, but we are now really starting to believe that a new chapter in Slough Town Football Club's story is about to begin."

The scheme was approved by Slough Borough Council's Cabinet on Monday.

Councillor Martin Carter, commissioner for community and leisure, said: "By offering this multi-purpose facility we will be able to provide new and innovative leisure pursuits, whilst also delivering on our promise of bringing Slough Town home."

A council spokesman said the site would "serve an area of the borough with high inactivity levels and low levels of participation in sport and physical activity".

The football stadium and community sports site will be constructed in two phases at a total estimated cost of £8,422,000.

Phase one, to be completed by August next year, will include the construction of the 3G pitch, a covered stand for 250 spectators and the car park.

Phase two will feature the construction of the main stand by February 2017.