 Bangor City FC wants a new stadium to replace the tired Farrar Road site |
Bangor City Football Club's move to a new site on the city's outskirts has been given the go-ahead, against the wishes of planning officers. Gwynedd councillors at the Arfon area planning meeting ignored their recommendations, and strong opposition among residents on Anglesey, on Wednesday evening.
Planning officials were recommending refusal because the site, on the banks of the Menai Straits, was in a landscape conservation area.
But councillors decided by a large majority that it was time for the club to leave its Farrar Road site.
The existing site will be redeveloped into a shopping area.
Bangor City Council strongly backed the plans but feelings ran high on the other side of the Straits where residents were worried about the effect of the floodlights and traffic.
 |  In a city which is strapped for land, the George site is the only option.  |
The club has been in talks about moving from the city council-owned ground at Farrar Road - its home since the 1920s - for some time.
The brand new stadium will be built beside Bangor University's George site, off Holyhead Road.
It will include a 800-seat stand and would be lit by eight 15 metre-high floodlight columns.
"We want the new stadium to be within the city," said Councillor Eddie Dogan, who played for Bangor during the 1950s.
Facilities
"All the other options considered were outside the boundaries of Bangor and in a city which is strapped for land, the George site is the only option.
"It's not as if it represents a change of use because it used to be the Normal College football ground."
He also says that the new stadium could also be a venue for concerts and events similar to the Faenol Festival.
 Some residents across the Straits are concerned about light pollution |
Bangor City chairman Ken Jones said: "We need this move to develop Bangor City Football Club.
"We are a top three League of Wales side and we regularly play in Europe.
"But in comparison with other European teams we play, our facilities are shocking."
Gwynedd planning officials had said the development would "significantly harm the visual amenities" of the rural location on the banks of the Menai which is a Landscape Conservation Area and adjoins a site of Special Scientific Interest.
They also said it would be too close to houses and would create traffic congestion.
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