Council planners have backed proposals to build a new £50 million stadium and training complex for Aberdeen FC.

Plans for the facility at Kingsford near Westhill were put on hold in October to give the club more time to discuss the development with the city council.

However planners have now recommended the project for approval, despite objections from campaigners and Aberdeenshire Council.

The report states: "It considered that the proposal would have significant public benefits for the region - both economic and social.

"A thorough evaluation of potential sites has been carried out and it is considered that there are no sequentially preferable sites in the City for the stadium (whether co-located or disaggregated) that are available and deliverable at this time or in a reasonable timescale.

"Given the lack of available or deliverable sites, it can be concluded that these public benefits will not be realised if approval is not given for the development on the site that is currently proposed."

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Welcoming the news, Aberdeen FC Chairman, Stewart Milne, said: "We are very pleased that the planners are recommending approval of our planning application for a community sports hub, training facilities and new stadium at Kingsford.

"The additional information supplied in the last few months has helped reinforce the strength of our economic case and the need for co-location. We believe it also underlined that Kingsford is the only viable, suitable and therefore deliverable site for the Club.

"As with any major planning application, there will inevitably be some conditions attached to this approval and our commitment to the Council and to the local community is that, should the Councillors grant consent, we will meet the conditions and work hard to address both the real and perceived issues particularly around transportation and traffic management."

However, campaign group No Kingford Stadium said the application is being recommended for approval on economic and public benefit "which has not been proven".

"We will be contacting our legal team tomorrow (24 January) to begin to review the 160 page planners report with a view to taking further action should Councillors vote to approve the application," the group said.

"Aberdeenshire council, the local communities of Westhill and Kingswells and the Strategic Development Planning Authority have all objected to this development.  We very much hope that Aberdeen City Councillors will take a view to follow the agreed local development plan and refuse this application."

(LM/MH)