I REFER to the plans submitted to build a new football stadium and eco park at Eastington by Dale Vince, writes a reader.

Now to put my cards on the table, I am a season ticket holder at FGR, mainly on account of children who joined the schools ambassador scheme.

I will also say that part of the match day experience for me is the street parking and walk to the ground so in an ideal world I would be more than happy to stay in Forest Green (I also tend to think that if possible a team called Forest Green Rovers should play where the name suggests but I am old fashioned in that way).

I am not a vegan but have enjoyed the food at the ground on many occasions including the full VIP match day experience but admit to smuggling in a pork pie and a beef sandwich when the mood arises (I also know of one fan who is not adverse to enjoying foie gras at half time prepared by his own personal chef but that’s a story for another time).

But I digress; this missive is a plea to stop prevaricating and citing complex issues and grant planning permission as soon as possible.

The current zeitgeist for veganism, healthy lifestyles and environmentally sustainable business is in all likelihood going to stand the test of time as football has done for now well over a century, so along comes a project that could not be more relevant today and beneficial to future generations and SDC are for some reason not getting completely behind it.

You have the chance to secure an iconic new stadium designed by an internationally renowned architectural practice, built with green credentials which will hopefully eventually attract both Championship football and other entertainment at no cost to yourselves.

Stroud is a town which, more than any other in the county, has a reputation for having an alternative culture based on green credentials (or as some say a town not adverse to knitting their own trousers) so surely the worlds greenest football club run by the country’s largest eco energy provider is exactly what Stroud is about.

This project (with an eco park to follow?) is surely the least complex decision that any council with Stroud’s history will ever have to make – you have a chance through presumably both hard work and good fortune to provide something that any economy is crying out for i.e:

•A truly inspiring sporting arena that would outdo any similar size town in the UK and put to shame many large cities’

•A large economic boost with the initial construction followed by a years of sustained income

•A facility to provide educational opportunities to schools and colleges

•A chance to boost tourism by linking in things such as the canal to a visit to the ground – imagine the prospect of being able to do a park and ride by canal barge

•A truly visionary eco park, should it materialise, to inspire and educate future generations

I understand the concerns of local residents but surely, in this instance, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something that provides such huge benefits for the district as a whole it must be allowed.

Stroud has so much going for it as a community please do not let this chance slip to provide a sporting legacy we can also be proud of and also hopefully an eco park which will do the same.

Name and address supplied