Express & Star

First game played at new Stafford Rugby Club ground

The first game has been held at Stafford Rugby Club's new premises after the move prompted a long-running battle with neighbours which reached the High Court.

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Stafford Rugby Club relocated from its ground near Newport Road to the new site at Blackberry Lane, near Doxey Marshes, after securing planning permission for the move in 2016.

Residents living near the new ground fought against the plans and even took their battle to the High Court.

Concerns raised included potential loss of open space on the Virginia Park estate for an access road and the siting of facilities on land affected by flooding.

And objections were also raised about an application for a premises licence for the new clubhouse. Nine people wrote to Stafford Borough Council, questioning the need for a closing time of 12am on weekdays and 2am on weekends.

Stafford's three teams which played on Saturday all won their games.

Steven Mcluckie, press officer for the club, said: "We had three games on Saturday, the first, second and third teams, they all won.

"We've had really positive feedback so far and everybody seems really impressed by it.

"We've got a number of more local clubs using it too, we've had a lot of interest from the local community.

"There's an open evening due to take place on Wednesday and we're expecting between 100 and 200 residents to come along.

"There has been minimal objections since, and we're trying really hard to work with people to minimise issues.

"We had objections about the premises licence too but the committee found nothing wrong with it and it was granted."

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