Benfleet: Club seeks planning permission for stadium upgrade

Six floodlights and four grandstands with a capacity for 100 fans are part of the club's plans

New floodlights and grandstands are set to be developed at an Essex football club in order for it to meet Football Association (FA) standards.

Benfleet Football Club's first team has played at Canvey Island Football Club's home at Park Lane since 2019.

But the Eastern Counties League side now wants to upgrade its Woodside Park home with six floodlights, four grandstands and other enhancements.

Castle Point Borough Council will meet to discuss the plans on Tuesday.

The club also wants to build a 2.4 metre (7.9ft) security fence and a 1.1 metre (3.6ft) high pitch side boundary fence.

The grandstands would provide a spectator capacity of 100, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

No objections have been raised around environmental health but control switches and time clocks will have to be installed to the floodlights to ensure they do not remain on any later than 22:00 for midweek fixtures.

The alterations are required for the club to meet the FA's ground grading rules for step six of the non-league football system.

As part of its planning statement, the club, which competes in Division One South of the Eastern Counties League, said the "upgrade" to Woodside Park was "urgent".A planning officer report said: "The proposal would provide a benefit in terms of improved sporting facilities for the football club which carries a significant amount of weight."