The architectural firm hired to restore footballer Kevin Phillips’ luxury £1.5m home in Staffordshire has been shortlisted for a national award.

And director Glen Smith said it would not have happened without the former England and Albion striker who has ploughed more than £500,000 into the project.

Phillips, who now plays for Blackpool, and wife Julie moved into the Grade II listed Grand Lodge in Hill Ridware, Rugeley, last year but neighbours opposed plans to add a wing to the five-bedroomed property.

The extension on the luxury home belonging to footballer Kevin Phillips

They did not want the Lodge, part of the historic Beau Dessert estate, to be modernised. But architects Park House Design, Wheelhouse Road, Rugeley, won special permission for the extension.

Mr Smith said the house could have fallen into disrepair, but now it looked stunning. The firm is in the national final of the Local Authority Building Control Excellence Awards.