THE much-anticipated decision on plans to build a new stadium for Worcester City Football Club may be made later this year.

Worcester City Council revealed the application to create a 4,419-capacity ground at Perdiswell Park could go before councillors on Thursday, December 15, “at the earliest”.

However, the council insisted they were awaiting “revised plans and additional information” to be submitted before going out for consultation.

If given the go-ahead, Worcester City Supporters’ Trust say it would be a “remarkable achievement” having started putting the bid together in 2012 before tabling it to the council in April 2014.

Since then, the trust have gone through a rigorous process with planners to create a “robust” application to present to the committee.

A council spokesman said: “We are currently awaiting revised plans and additional information for the football stadium planning application.

“The joint applicants — the football club and the supporters’ trust — have said they will submit these to us by the end of October.

“There will then need to be a 21-day statutory consultation period.

“Depending on the outcome of the consultation, the earliest the application could go before the planning committee is December 15.”

With many surrounding residents against the proposals, including action group Protect Perdiswell Park, a working party was created earlier this year to look at alternative sites in the city for a football ground to be built on.

The council spokesman added: “In the meantime, members of the supporters’ trust and the club, including Anthony Hampson (club chairman), are continuing to play an active role in the working party the council has set up to examine all possible sites for a new home for the football club.”

The statement contradicts Hampson’s weekend claims in the club’s own matchday programme that the application would be heard next month.

“With regards to the planning application for Perdiswell, this grinds through the process of endless expensive reports and consultations and is now effectively in the hands of the city council, its leader and their various departments,” Hampson said.

“We are assured this will be heard by the end of November. I have my doubts but we will await events.”

Trust director Rich Widdowson said work was “ongoing” and insisted they were “very confident” their plans would be approved.

He said: “Our aim is to put a robust application in front of the city council. The trust have put a lot of hard work into this over several years.

“Nunnery Way took a long time and hundreds of thousands of pounds, so it will be a remarkable achievement if the trust can pull this off.

“But we are very confident and we would not have got this far if there were not any legs in it.”

The club have been in exile since 2013 and are playing at Bromsgrove’s Victoria Ground after ending their three-year stay at Kidderminster’s Aggborough in April.