The west London club, backed by millionaire Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, was given the green light in the High Court to improve their stadium on the banks of the River Thames.

Fulham said they were "extremely pleased" by Mr Justice Collins' decision to dismiss the appeal by 11 local residents, asking for the Secretary of State to personally determine the club's planning application.

Fulham will now finalise plans to ground-share at QPR's Loftus Road next season while the capacity at their own stadium is raised from 20,787 to 30,000.

When both Hammersmith & Fulham Borough Council and the Goverment gave the go-ahead for the project, Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed described it as "a momentous day".

But a small group of local residents did not share Al Fayed's enthusiasm.

The residents had been pushing for a public inquiry, which could have delayed the start of building by a year.

The so-called 'Fulham Alliance' said the issues surrounding the proposed improvements to the 105-year-old stadium were "too important" to be ruled on by the local council.

Lawyers for the residents said the new ground will have a "damaging and massively intrusive effect".

And they accused Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, former Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions, of acting "unreasonably and unlawfully".