ALVECHURCH’S more than seven-year wait to move from Lye Meadow to The Hayes could soon be over.
The Planning Committee at Bromsgrove District Council is minded to approve the club’s outline planning application.
The Committee voted in favour of the club’s application for 25 homes to be built on their Lye Meadow site.
Approval of the application is subject to several conditions by way of a section 106 agreement.
Contributions will be made to local schools, parks and medical facilities.
This includes a £7,322 highways contribution, £21,189 towards school transport, a £124,255 education infrastructure contribution for middle schools and £118,868 to Crown Meadow First School, Alvechurch Middle School and North and South Bromsgrove High Schools.
Church will also receive a seven-figure contribution towards the construction of new stadium facilities at the Hayes.
Alvechurch first registered the application in January 2019 and will likely have to wait a little longer to complete the move with the club exploring groundshare options for the 2026/27 season.
Alvechurch chairman Richard Thorndike said: “Anyone linked to the club will know just how long we have been dealing with this application and the importance a positive outcome would have on our future.
“There are too many individuals to thank who have supported us in our quest to get this over the line but special mention must be made to my fellow board directors who have suffered along with me and particularly Mark Fogarty (sporting director) and Steve Clements (academy manager).
“It’s a cliche but work really starts now. We are voting as a board on where we’ll be next season for starters.
“I have had initial discussions with David Faulkner at Redditch United who said they could possibly accommodate us for a season or two (subject to agreement) and this may end up as the preferred route for us while we develop our ground at The Hayes.
“There is a possibility though that our last game at our much maligned and historic Lye Meadow ground could be our final game of the 2025/26 season versus Leiston.
“I would implore anyone who has ever been connected to Alvechurch to attend this game because it could prove to be historic.
“Finally, I want to show gratitude to everyone who has helped us make special memories at this ground.”
The Standard has been told no timeframe has been set for the proposed development.
