GNE are proud to announce the unveiling of plans to extend the covered standing on the Surrey Street side of The Amdec Forklift Stadium. The works have been a long time in the making and have been planned for some time. After evaluating a variety of capital development projects and ground works, the extension of the Surrey Street stand represents the clubs continued commitment to improving its facilities & infrastructure, as well as the clubs ongoing commitment to provide an all inspiring matchday experience for supporters here at Glossop North End.

Club secretary Dan Bates said , ‘‘research has told us for a long time that our crowds can be highly sensitive to changes in the weather conditions here in Glossop, heavy rain or showers can affect people’s last minute decisions to either come to the game or not. The hope now is that with more covered standing, people will be more inclined to come down on days when the weather is not so good to support their club, in the knowledge that they’ll be under cover. Whilst the board are working hard to ensure the current longevity of the club and its finances, we are also conscious of the need to grow sustainably and to plan for the long term going forward ’’.

With initial groundwork starting today (17th May), the work will see the size of the Surrey Street stand doubled in length from 24 meters to 48 meters, with the direction of the extension being solely away from the clubhouse. This will leave the popular uncovered standing section on Surrey Street near the turnstile, which proves popular during good weather!

The first part of the works is to ensure the excavation work is complete so that the pile caps can be correctly installed. Following this, the piling will commence, followed by the concrete reinforcement and steps / levels. From there, the fabricated steel framework will be installed & painted, and finished off with the installation of the roof section.

The work will also see the existing grass sections removed and replaced with concrete steps, meaning the vast majority of the length of the Surrey Street side of the ground will be transformed into concrete terracing. This will in turn, allow the club to apply for an increase in ground capacity should the need arise.

The Amdec Forklift Stadium is currently in compliance with FA National Ground Grading Grade D standard, which allows GNE to maintain its position at Step 4 in the national league pyramid with a rated capacity of 1,300. For GNE to achieve promotion in the future to Step 3 and to sustain this position, ground grade C must be achieved. In this case capacity must be increased to 1,950, with the potential to increase to 3,000 thereafter. The minimum covered accommodation must be 500, of which at least 250 must be seated. An extra turnstile would be required in a location of the ground that takes into account the requirements of segregation (where necessary).

The work on the Surrey Street stand extension has commenced relatively on schedule and will be completed in time for the new season, and our first pre-season friendlies of the 2021/2022 campaign. Further updates on progress of the Surrey Street stand extension will be posted via the clubs media platforms when available…