PLANS to build a new stand to increase the capacity of Scarborough Athletic’s Flamingo Land Stadium to more than 3,000 people have been approved.

The Northern Premier League Team needs the expansion to allow it to continue to progress up the footballing pyramid.

The proposals for the new stand went before Scarborough Council’s Planning and Development Committee and were approved but not without some concerns.

The ground, which opened in 2017, was built in a residential area.

Cllr Mark Vesey, Green, spoke to the committee on behalf of residents in the Weaponness area, saying that fans parked on residential roads nearby to “save 10 minutes getting out the car park after a match”.

He said there had also been numerous reports of fans urinating in the gardens of local residents.

Cllr Steve Siddons (Lab) told the committee that the residents did not choose to live next door to a football stadium but instead “a football stadium came to live next door them”.

He added: “Two years ago I said we’d built this ground in the wrong place.

“One or two times a week the residents who live there have their lives blighted.”

Cllr Hazel Lynskey (Con) said the issue with parking was down to the “patience” of fans and said the committee should “not stand in the way” of the club’s progress.

The committee also voted to write to North Yorkshire County Council’s Highways department to reiterate the residents’ concerns over parking and transport to and from the ground.

Under the plans, the maximum capacity of the ground will increase from 2,070 to 3,010 spectators, which will allow the club to progress up the league to the National League North.

There were also proposals built into the plan to further increase the capacity to 4,000 in the future if needed.

The community stadium is also used by local teams and clubs and forms part of the Scarborough Sports Village Complex, which opened in 2016.

Scarborough Athletic was formed by fans in 2007 following the winding up of Scarborough Football Club. The club played for 10 seasons in Bridlington before returning to Scarborough in 2017.