Forest Green refused planning permission for new all-wooden stadium

Forest Green chairman Dale Vince has expressed his disappointment after being refused planning permission for his club’s new 5,000-seater wooden stadium.

Stroud District Council voted against the building after councillors raised concerns about the stadium’s location, noise, impact on the landscape and it would not do enough to provide for the local community.

Vince, who claimed the council meeting was “farcical”, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I am a little bit disappointed about what happened.

“It is a poor show. Four years of work have gone into this, and the council has spent a lot of time and money doing this job properly.

“It was properly assessed, recommended for approval. They are on weak ground, and maybe we will appeal but that is another year of my life.

“The fans will be disappointed and devastated. If you go around the district of Stroud there will be a lot of people disappointed.”

The stadium was designed as part of the club’s wider ambitions to reach the Championship and was hoped to be completed in time for the start of the 2023/24 football season.

On his decision to refuse the stadium, Cllr Hayden Jones said: “I think it is stunning but we need to balance the benefits of that development against the potential costs.

“On balance I thought it had greater costs than benefits to the local community and road network.”