EXILED CITY EYE A HOME RETURN

WORCESTER City have confirmed new plans to return home – and are being backed by council planners.

The exiled Midland League Premier Division new boys have been looking at a new site on city council-owned land in Warndon.

This week’s announcement follows Worcester City Council’s double refusal of planning permission to Worcester City Supporters Trust for a 4,400-capacity stadium in Perdiswell.

The trust said they intended to appeal to Whitehall against the refusal, but the club itself refused to back its fans over the issue.

The club is currently playing at Bromsgrove Sporting’s ground, after previously groundsharing at Kidderminster Harriers, and have not played a game in their home city since 2013.

However, its directors have been working behind the scenes to thrash out a new deal for Parsonage Way.

The next step is for the club to apply for planning permission for a new floodlit stadium, which would also be available for community use.

The council would then give a 50-year lease on the site to the Worcestershire FA – which would then offer the club a sublease – at a peppercorn rent of £1 a year.

As much as £100,000 could be released by the Council’s City Plan Fund to facilitate the development of plans for Parsonage Way.

The council’s policy and development will discuss the proposals – which have been recommended for approval by its officers – at its next meeting on Tuesday.

In a statement, the club said: “Directors believe that this is the best opportunity to bring City home in a realistic time frame.”