THE city council’s decision to refuse permission for a 4,400-capacity stadium near Perdiswell Leisure Centre has been overturned.

Worcester City FC’s plan to build a new ground at Perdiswell Park was turned down by the council last July, with the club having been without a home for five years.

However, Worcester City Supporters' Trust's appeal to the planning inspectorate proved successful, with the decision overturned in a report published today.

But the fight isn’t over yet – the council owns the proposed site and any sale or lease “would have to be discussed and agreed” by councillors, a WCC spokesman said.

Appointed by the secretary of state, inspector GP Jones did not accept the council’s fears of negative impact on the quality and character of the designated green space.

Mr Jones said the character of the area is “primarily defined” by the playing fields and nearby leisure centre building and car park.

He said the all-weather floodlit 3G pitch would be broadly located in existing astro courts.

“Therefore, the immediate locality already exhibits a significant leisure-based character and appearance.”

If it is to go ahead, the new stadium would see the removal of a children’s play area and reduction of playing fields and green space, while also restricting views of the surrounding open space.

However, Mr Jones said the benefits “would significantly outweigh the harms”, adding that the proposal would represent a “sustainable form of development”.

He went on to say the proposal would “provide considerable community and recreational benefits” that would “chime” with planning framework guidelines and would “not unacceptably compromise” the green space.

Following the initial rejection for the Perdiswell site, the club had switched its focus to another site at Parsonage Way.

The city council had even offered up to £100,000 for feasibility studies, but those studies were brought to a halt in July when officers deemed the project simply unviable.

Then-chairman Anthony Hampson, who always maintained the council-owned land at Perdiswell would never be made available to the club, stepped down within a week.

This change at the top swung attention firmly back to the trust’s preferred site with supporters suggesting a demonstration at Worcester Guildhall at a fans' forum on Saturday.

The original application was submitted in April 2014.