Contractors on site at UWE Stadium plot

Aerial view of Bristol Rover's proposed new UWE Stadium in Stoke Gifford, Bristol.

Bristol Rovers FC has announced that another important milestone has been reached on the UWE Stadium project, with contractors moving in to establish the final design of the foundations.

According to a news article on the club’s website, contractors have entered the site near the university’s Frenchay Campus to carry out a series of boreholes to test the ground conditions.

The article adds:

“This is a normal part of the process required before construction takes place. The tests undertaken are to ensure that the ground conditions are as expected and that previous calculations and tests are verified. These tests and their validation will take up to six weeks to complete.”

The club intends to finance the building of the stadium by selling its current home, the Memorial Ground in Horfield, to supermarket group Sainsbury’s.

In January, Bristol City Council granted Sainsbury’s planning permission to redevelop the Memorial Ground site, but that decision has still to be confirmed by Communities Minister Eric Pickles.

The minister was supposed to have made his decision by now, but the BBC reported this week that he has asked for more time to consider the application.

Subject to Mr Pickles’ approval, work on the 21,700-seater stadium is expected to start in June and take 18 months to complete. Rovers would then move to the stadium in time for the start of the 2015/16 season.

Related link: UWE Stadium (The Journal)

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