ANOTHER year of improvements at the Valley Stadium has enhanced Redditch United's standing as a forward thinking non-league club.

Brand new floodlights costing £32,000 have been installed, the pitch has undergone the second part of a three-year treatment programme and a new catering unit and club shop are set to be built in the opening weeks of the season.

These come on top of the £20,000 spent last year to refurbish the lounge and executive boxes.

It is part of huge masterplan to redevelop the whole stadium and put the club among the best in non-league football.

Chairman Rod Laight said: "Everyone involved with Redditch United is striving to make it a top club.

"The biggest project we have undertaken is the floodlights, which will serve us for many years. The last set were 28 years old and had gone past their sell-by date.

"I am very proud of having achieved the funding for the lights as the effort put in has definitely been worth it."

The pitch has also had £6,000 worth of sand put on it as part of a three-year programme to improve the drainage and to cut down on the number of postponed games.

Tenants Solihull Borough are in partnership with the Reds and have contributed half the cost to the project.

Laight is hopeful this will lay to rest the ghost of past seasons when the pitch would resemble a vegetable plot following a spell of bad weather.

He said: "There was already an improvement last season at a time when we had some of the heaviest rainfall ever recorded. We were still able to play more games than expected and this season, if the weather is normal, we do not think we will lose a single game."

The final piece of the current jigsaw is the development of a catering block and club shop next to the main stand at a cost of £30,000, which is being offset by sponsorship from Everards Brewery.

Work on this is set begin in the next few weeks so the club can start to reap the benefits. The catering section will enable to club to provide hot food for the fans on match day plus meals for sponsors and players.

It also means the club can cater for non-footballing activities, including its popular sporting dinners to create extra income for the club.

The club shop will stock a range of new merchandise and will be operated by the newly formed Redditch United Supporters Club.