£12m plan for football club

Plans for a 70-bedroom hotel and shops complex at Bilston Town Football Club were revealed today.

The £12 million transformation of the club's Queen Street home would bring more than 100 jobs to the area and also include shops, restaurants and bars.

The club's run-down pitch and terraces will also be overhauled.

Around £12 million is expected to be ploughed into the project, which councillors said would bring the town into the 21st century.

Bilston Councillor Bert Turner said: "I think the important thing is that this project regenerates the whole of that area.

"People living near the club have had to put up with such a lot and the site has really deteriorated over the years.

"These plans are something that everyone will rejoice in.

"This project will be an immense success.

"That area is desperate for investment and this is the perfect way to do it.

"It is an awful lot of money and will create more than 100 jobs.

"This area is so run-down and something like this would completely transform it and bring it into the 21st century.

"I hope the planners understand the situation like we do and show their support at creating a development which will be an asset to everyone."

The current vandal-hit clubhouse is set to be given a complete overhaul with striking floor-to-ceiling windows and glass entrance, alongside the new leisure complex, if plans are given the go-ahead.

The proposals have been revealed as the club prepares to sign a new 99-year lease for the ground.

After being forced out of their home last year following a campaign of vandalism, which saw it targeted more than 120 times in five years, club bosses are keen to bring back the glory days of the club.

An application for the multi-million pound revamp is expected to be submitted in days.

Costs to refurbish the clubhouse, pitch and terraces are expected to be around £500,000.

Councillor Turner added: "This club is very important for the people of Bilston and we can't wait to see the team back home.

"But the extra hotel development will put the whole of Bilston back on the map. It is wonderful."