After three long months of waiting Forest Green Rovers now know: their planning approval will not be called in for review. This means the club can proceed with final design.

Though it's been over 3 years since the winning design was presented, the road to fruition is still long for Forest Green Rovers. Their outline planning application was finally approved in the second vote last December, having been rejected earlier in 2019.

Because the project has been facing local opposition, Eastington Parish Council applied to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for an inquiry. But it was revealed by Forest Green Rovers owner Dale Vince last week that the plans will not be called in for review. Had that happened, there would be many more months of delays.

“Good news, Eco Park is not being called in by the government. It CAN go ahead. Great news. A waste of three months and i am sure it was politics at play, but the outcome matters more. We can push on now with more detailed designs and next steps. We are on our way.” Vince wrote on twitter.

Detailed design for what might be the world's most sustainable stadium, will require another permission, however that shouldn't be a problem once the outline permission is in place. Construction should last 2 years and is likely to begin in 2021.

The new stadium will be built primarily out of wood , expected to hold 5,000 people at first, with oprion of doubling the size once it's warranted by ticket demand.