PROPOSALS to build a new South Stand at the Vitality Stadium could be given the green light by Bournemouth planners next month.

If approved a new permanent South Stand could be constructed at the stadium - home to AFC Bournemouth - with the south west and south east corners of the stadium filled in around it.

It would see an additional 3,000 extra seats added to Vitality Stadium, which with a current capacity of 11,464 is by some distance the smallest in the Premier League.

The application to expand the stadium was unveiled during a public exhibition in March, with the application formally submitted to borough planners later the same month.

The proposed redevelopment includes plans to demolish the existing temporary stand and replace it with a new one able to accommodate 4,559 fans. Two smaller stands in the south west and south east corners of the stadium, each comprising 428 seats, would also be built.

However at the end of the 2015/2016 season in May the club announced it was delaying its plans due to “ongoing negotiations with the club’s landlord to purchase the stadium”.

It has now been confirmed that the plans are back on the table and a decision could be made next month.

A spokesman from the council said: “The application may not come to planning board unless there is concern about the proposal – it is however likely that we will be seeking to determine in December. “

Meanwhile a spokesman for the club said a deal had not been made to buy the stadium from landlords Structadene, but the application for the South Stand would still be moving forward.

While the majority of commenters have expressed their support for the proposals some have raised concerns about the impact 3,000 extra fans will have on traffic and parking.

The proposals do not include any changes to the car parking arrangements at the stadium but includes a ‘travel plan’, which aims to encourage the use of “sustainable travel methods and minimise the number of fans which will be attending the stadium by car”.

It comes as developers Tanner and Tilley has also submitted a planning application to retain a ‘privacy fence’ around the club’s training ground for a further three years. The fence was originally installed back in 2015 when the team were promoted to the Premier League to provide privacy for the squad during training.