Fulham have welcomed the House of Lords' decision to refuse an appeal against their plans for a new stadium in west London.

The House of Lords turned down the appeal by the Fulham Alliance against a ruling made by the High Court in May that the group had no grounds for their protest.

The alliance is a group of nine local residents who have been campaigning against the club's plans to turn Craven Cottage into a 28,000 all-seater stadium.

"We are naturally pleased to learn that the House of Lords has refused the Fulham Alliance leave to appeal against last summer's decision of the High Court which ruled that they had no grounds to challenge our planning permission," a club statement said.

"The actions of the Fulham Alliance - a group of fewer than 10 individuals - have already severely damaged the club's plans to re-develop Craven Cottage.

"Their filibustering is undoubtedly aimed at destroying the financial viability of the entire project."

The club added they are still looking at increasing the capacity and usage of Craven Cottage while at the same time exploring other sites in west London for an all-seater stadium.

The alliance claim the development would be out of proportion for the area which is one of the most expensive parts of London to live.

Fulham are ground-sharing at QPR's Loftus Road for two years while their future is being sorted out.

The club had originally hoped to complete redevelopment work on Craven Cottage in time for the start of the 2003/04 season.