ACCRINGTON Stanley are celebrating a double boost for the club after plans were given the go-ahead for a new training ground and a new stand sponsorship deal was secured.

Proposals were passed by Ribble Valley Council for a training base at land off Whalley Road in Read.

Stanley owner Andy Holt, who owns the land, submitted the application for the construction of changing rooms, including showers, and a car park with access road.

The surrounding fields will become three full-sized football pitches alongside two under-sized pitches.

Mr Holt was optimistic after the plans were passed, subject to further reports and conditions, by the planning committee on Thursday night.

He said: “There will be a few months of tests to carry out first for flood risk and so on but this is a big boost for us.”

Stanley manager John Coleman said it was good news for the future of the club, who currently are without a dedicated training ground, as they look to build on their promotion to League One.

He said: “I am delighted, it shows we are heading in the right direction. We won’t have it yet but it bodes well for the future.”

The League Two champions have also announced the Whinney Hill Stand at the Wham Stadium has been sponsored by Studio, based in Clayton-le-Moors, in a three-year-deal for what has been described as a “significant amount of money”.

The club is ploughing £1.5million into the ground as it embarks on its first League One campaign with the family stand set to be finished in November.

Studio, also known as Express Gifts ltd, was first established in 1962.

It is now turning over £400million, supplies to 1.8million customers and employs 2,400 people in peak periods.

Daniel Bowerbank, Stanley commercial manager, said: “We are delighted as a club that our new family stand sponsor is yet another local community business who is, once again, proud to be supporting their local club.”

Paul Kendrick, managing director at Studio, said: “We are really excited to be sponsoring the family stand at the football club, it’ll be fabulous. The club are doing amazingly well at the moment and to be able to support the club and the community is really important to Studio.

“We can’t wait to see the finished family stand.”