Derry City's new North Terrace Stand to cost Brandywell club in region of £2million

​The club has been granted planning permission by Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium owners, Derry City and Strabane District Council for the development of the new 2,940 capacity stand at the Brandywell Road end of the ground.

The news was welcomed by the club on Wednesday afternoon and chairman, Mr Philip O'Doherty and the Board of Directors are keen to move ahead with the project as soon as possible.

In fact, club director Patrick Simpson revealed works are expected to get underway around November 6th - three days after the Candy Stripes' season concludes with their final home fixture against St Patrick's Athletic.

The planned steel structure behind the goals will increase the overall capacity of the venue to 6,242 and the redevelopment works comprise partial demolition of the Southend Stand and erection of toilet facilities, two sets of turnstiles and gates.

"It's a significant bit of work but really exciting for the club," said Mr Simpson.

"We're still in season at the moment so we don't want to disrupt anything and we're still liaising closely with building control but we would hope to be on the ground around November 6th - just after the season finishes. All going well, that shouldn't be a problem.

"We want it to move quickly. We want to try and get as much work done in the off season as possible to try and get it erected at some stage next season.

"If things go to plan which they have done so far and we get on site at the start of November then we would hope that around May or June time it will be fully functional.

"That would be around the midseason mark next year," he confirmed.

The redevelopment will be fully financed by the club's chairman who was determined to meet the increased demand for season tickets.

"Everyone knows how important our chairman is to the club," added Mr Simpson. "The stand is being fully financed by the club. So there's no funding or grant aid. The cost is probably around the £2million mark but in the current climate these things can change."

It's hoped that rail seating can be installed in the new stand which would increase capacity for Uefa competitions next year, potentially meaning Brandywell could host third round matches.

"What we're adopting here is basically a hybrid model where for league games we can use it for a safe standing terrace and when it comes to games in Europe the stand will adapt and it will be fully seated," explained the Derry director.

"So it's a modern stand, something similar to what was used at Celtic Park a few years ago and you will now see it rolled out right across Europe and clubs in England. So it will be fully Uefa compliant.

"The game that went to Tallaght this year, we would be pretty sure that game could be played at Brandywell next year. We will work closely with the FAI and Uefa on that but it's definitely a big step in the right direction for the club and the fans.

"Hopefully everything goes to plan. So far the planners have been great, the Council has been great so we're nearly there.”