Major retailers are on the cusp of signing a deal for the long-awaited new shopping park in Burton which will enable the town's rugby club to move to its new community facility.

Work on Burton Rugby Club's new sports facility in Tatenhill has now started meaning the club could be playing at the new site for the 2018/9 season.

The club's relocation will trigger the start of works for the new Burton Shopping Park at the club's current Peel Croft ground which could be open as early as Christmas 2018.

The groundworks on the new rugby facilities at Tatenhill have started and, with the sale of some land to Staffordshire County Council for the new Branston Road High School car parks, work has also started on the access road. On completion, the car parks and access road will be a shared facility.

Colin Grimsdell, Burton Rugby Club's development director, said: "We started this project just after the recession so it's taken time to get to this stage but over the last few months have had firm commitments from several key retailers and are now in a position to move both the Peel Croft and rugby club schemes forward.

"We have an impressive line-up of other sporting clubs joining us at the new facilities and with their contribution, various grants and the sale of our existing ground at Peel Croft we are able to start the major site groundworks and erection of the clubhouse. It will be a two-phase programme to develop the existing ground for the shopping park and we will have to run the rugby club programme to suit that."

Development Portfolio Management (DPM), who are the developers and project managers for both schemes, is now close to signing with tenants for the first phase of Burton Shopping Park. It will be submitting a detailed planning application for Peel Croft in the next few weeks for all the units for Phase 1 of the development.

Meanwhile, there is strong operator demand for Phase 2, which, more than likely, will be one of the major discount food store operators; a contract could be signed shortly.

The original plans for Burton Shopping Park. It is not yet known if the layout has changed
The original plans for Burton Shopping Park. It is not yet known if the layout has changed

DPM director Paul Tolley said: "The next 18 months are going to be exciting times for both the rugby club and the wider community as things start to come together. This is a major relocation project which will change the face of sport in Burton and ensure the town has 21st century sporting facilities for communal use."

Other sporting interests joining Burton RFC at the new site at Tatenhill are Dunstall Cricket Club and Grange Lawn Tennis Club; with potential in the future for netball, running and a stopping point for the National Cycle Way.

Rugby club development director Mr Grimsdell added: "This sporting redevelopment is without doubt one of the most adventurous and high-profile sports developments in Staffordshire, if not the West

Midlands. It's not just a new home for Burton RFC but will be a major community facility that has the potential to grow to address the town's future requirements.

"With no money coming from central government and local authorities under severe financial pressure, it falls on the private sector to fund and develop new sports centres.

"Such centres act as a focus where the community can take part in sporting and other activities, thus addressing the government's health and wellbeing agenda, meeting local community requirements, maximising the potential of the various clubs involved and allowing them to grow to meet future demand and offer potential for other sporting activities to come forward alongside us.

"It is our intention to grow this as a real community-focused sports centre to serve the town and develop the range of sports on offer through either the existing clubs or new ones.

"The more it is used the more successful it will be and be good for Burton.

"The club has taken a bold decision to relocate, which would not have been possible without selling the existing ground to finance this move. It's a common issue nowadays but our move is underway and it's all systems go."

Delays

It will be the third time an application has been submitted to East Staffordshire Borough Council for permission to turn Peel Croft into a shopping park.

Having submitted the first application in 2012, Burton Rugby Club hoped that Burton Shopping Park would be ready to open by the end of 2013, however the economic climate has delayed the proposals.

The application was resubmitted in 2015 after the three-year time limit to start work at the site that came with an original planning application came to an end.