Scunthorpe United's 12,000-seater stadium plans approved

The League One side currently plays home games at the 9,000-seater Glanford Park, which only opened in 1988

Scunthorpe United's plans for a new 12,000-seater football stadium have been approved.

The proposed new ground at Burringham was given the green light earlier by North Lincolnshire Council.

It will replace the League One side's 9,000-capacity ground at Glanford Park, which itself only opened in 1988. Plans include a bar, gym, hotel and offices.

Scunthorpe United said its aspirations were "no longer met by the existing stadium".

When Glanford Park was built in the 1980s, it was the first new stadium built by a Football League club since the end of World War Two and the move began an era of dozens of new stadiums opening across the country.

Scunthorpe, who previously played at the Old Show Ground, which is now the site of a supermarket, would become the first Football League club to have built a new stadium since the 1980s to subsequently move again to another newly-built ground.

The club said it wanted another ground so it could realise its "ambitions of playing in a higher division".

Scunthorpe were in the fourth tier of the league when Glanford Park was built, currently play in the third tier and have spent three seasons in the past decade in the Championship, the Football League's second level.

It has also submitted outline planning permission for a multi-use arena and outdoor football pitches at the site.

Plans for the 12,000-seater stadium include a bar, gym, hotel and offices

The new stadium would be at a 23 hectare-site to the west of the town, by Brumby Common Lane.

The club must adhere to conditions set by the council regarding ecology and construction.

The council said the site was within the northern part of the Lincolnshire Lakes Area Action Plan, due to be developed by 2028 with 6,000 houses, retail and leisure facilities on "a modern campus environment".

The option to redevelop Glanford Park was dismissed because the club said the pitch size, existing buildings and access would cause "significant" problems.

Scunthorpe United fan Rich Gwynne tweeted: "So, last season at GP for @SUFCOfficial. Time to build a team that'll christen the new ground with an opening game in The Championship!"

Grimsby fan Wayne Green wrote: "Local rivalry aside, you have to congratulate @SUFCOfficial on their new stadium plans, it looks class."

The 23-hectare site is at Burringham to the west of the town, close to the M181