Planners' boost for new Wembley

The old Wembley is awaiting the bulldozers

The proposed national stadium at Wembley has taken a step closer to becoming reality, after the new designs were given the go-ahead by council planners.

On Wednesday, Brent Council gave the thumbs up to the scheme - the success of which now rests on whether the Football Association (FA) can secure financial backing from Barclays Bank.

Wembley spokesman Chris Palmer said: "Planning permission was unanimous from the committee and it is another of the building blocks that we need to get in place.

"The key thing that came out of tonight's meeting is how important Brent Council see the national stadium project with regards to the regeneration of the Wembley area.

"They view it as a catalyst for transforming the whole area."

Negotiations with Barclays are still continuing, with the FA working towards a deadline of 30 April.

Tube improvements

There were five objections to the plans, with three of the objectors speaking at the meeting, but they did not manage to influence councillors against the project.

The decision by Brent Council was important as there had been claims by backers of Birmingham's bid for the national stadium that the Wembley designs would run into trouble with planners.

Alongside last week's decision by the Greater London Authority and the government to fund improvements to the tube station, the much-troubled plans look finally to be on track.

Sport England are continuing a study to see how easily the new stadium could be converted for athletics events, and it is understood their initial findings have been positive.