BUSINESSES are being invited to support plans for the expansion of a thriving football club.

Barnton Football Club plays at Townfield Lane in Barnton, and is looking to create a 154-seater stand at the ground by next March.

The club plays in the first division of the North West Counties League, and has won consecutive promotions in the past two seasons.

The stand is estimated to cost £36,000, and the club hopes to attract funding for up to 70 per cent of the cost from the FA’s Football Stadium Improvement Fund.

This would leave the club to raise £11,000 to complete the project, and it is due to submit a planning application for the stand to Cheshire West and Chester Council in the next month.

“We are working hard for the club to emulate the heady days of 10 years ago when we put Barnton on the map in representing Cheshire and England in Europe,” said club chairman Ian Ross.

“The club is now a forward-thinking, community-engaged entity within the core of the village, and the new team here is committed to drive the club to reach its potential on and off the pitch.”

The club needs to reach grade G of the FA National Ground Grading by March 31 next year.

The new stand would incorporate provision for spectators with disabilities, and would enable the ground to be certified to grade D, applicable to Northern Premier League Division One status.

Mr Ross said ground improvements and the club’s promotion to the National Football League Pyramid had seen attendances increase by 400 per cent in two seasons.

The club is actively involved in the community, he added, is to offer free season tickets to high school pupils and local primary schools are to be invited to supply ball boys for matches, with free entry to parents and teachers on the day.

Mid Cheshire College is working with the club on setting up the club’s own radio station, which could feature match day programme broadcasts and match commentary from college students.

Mr Ross said he wanted the club to become “a village attraction, one for the community to use and be proud of”.

“We want the village and the entire community to embrace, contribute to, and benefit from our future successes,” he added.

He said the club would welcome support and involvement from local businesses, and he can be contacted on 07966 410169.