Arsenal clear final stadium hurdle

English FA Premiership champions Arsenal FC have been given the go-ahead to build a new 60,000-seater stadium after a court ruled against objections from local residents today.

Listed buildings
Last season's league and FA Cup winners can now push on with their plans to move to the new Ashburton Grove site in time for the 2005-06 season. The new stadium will be just a mile away from Highbury, which has been Arsenal's home for 90 years. The club has been hampered by Highbury's 38,500 capacity which cannot be extended because two of the stands are listed buildings.

'Demanding legal audit'
The case was brought against Islington Council who had granted planning approval for the new stadium. After a three-day hearing at the High Court in London, Mr Justice Duncan Ouseley said plans for Arsenal's new stadium had "been put through a demanding legal audit" and stood up. Referring to the objections to the stadium he added: "I have concluded that these applications must fail. Most of the points raised are unarguable."

'Relief'
Arsenal director Ken Friar said the club were delighted with the outcome of the hearing. "It does not come as a surprise, since we knew our proposals were sound, our planning application was of the highest quality, and that the Council's handling of the application was exemplary," he said. "Nevertheless, it is a relief to have the challenge rejected, and now to be able to get on with building the new stadium and all the regenerative development that will go with it."