Villa Park amended plans green-lit by councillors
Aston Villa’s plans for its £100m expansion of its North Stand have been approved by Birmingham city council, as it looks to create a ‘world-class’ sporting venue.
Amendments were then submitted to councillors in July, such as adding a club shop to the new North East Corner, alongside the addition of a sports bar entrance which ties the new North Stand to the existing Trinity Road Stand.
The Villa Live scheme, a standalone building intended as a multi-purpose entertainment, community and retail space, will now be built inside a refurbished warehouse near the ground.
A planning statement said the club had reconsidered the phasing of the scheme and decided to focus on building the North Stand and would complete the original plan for Villa Live at a later date.
As an interim solution, it said the Stumps Academy building would be repurposed to offer a fan zone, food and drink space and events space.
The planning document said: “The planning strategy for the redevelopment of Villa Park has been reworked through this s73 application to ensure that the North Stand can come forward for development immediately, and new proposals for the refurbishment of the Stumps Academy building and car park fulfil wider functions of Villa Live in the ‘meanwhile’ period.
“This scenario will allow the future delivery of Villa Live and the completion of the original consented scheme in the future.”
