EVESHAM United have scored a significant victory after landing permission to build a new stadium.

The long-awaited move could secure the club's future and has paved the way for a tilt at promotion to the Dr Martens League Premier Division.

Robins chairman Jim Cockerton said arrangements would now be drawn up to sell Common Road to finance a move in August next year.

The new ground will be situated on land off the Cheltenham Road on the town's boundary with Hinton-on-the-Green parish.

Wychavon District Council planners have granted outline planning permission for a new ground plus two training pitches.

The club will now prepare a more detailed planning application for the site, and Cockerton described the decision as a massive boost for the club.

"The decision has secured the long-term future of Evesham United," he said.

The club has been striving to find a new ground for 11 years, having been at their cramped Common Road headquarters since 1968.

For Cockerton it marks a personal triumph after repeated efforts to secure a new ground.

"I have been trying for eight years so it is an unbelievable feeling," he said.

"It feels like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

"The only reason I got involved with Evesham in the first place was to save the football club and hopefully we have now taken the biggest step to save the future of the club.

"It's a great day for Evesham but we have got to remain positive because the last thing we want is to move to a new ground and then finish bottom of the league."

This season United finished fourth in the Western Division, their highest since joining the Southern League back in the early 1990s, although they decided not to go for a tilt at promotion due to the cost of bringing Common Road up to Premier Division standard.

They also reached the Worcestershire FA Senior Cup final for the first time in their history.

Cockerton hopes the new ground will bring in more fans.

"I hope the news will encourage more support because we are not a well supported club," he said.

"We just hope we can now go from strength to strength. The club is now in a position to provide facilities for the youth of the town."