Edit | This was of course an Aprils Fools joke. But in all seriousness, the crowd numbers this season have been great, and you've been rewarded with some top games. So keep the support going for the rest of the season, get behind the lads, and let's keep the push going.

A detailed planning application for a new ground and sports complex was today given the green light by the Ribble valley Councils’s planning committee.

With the club’s average attendance around 240 this season, and with the club challenging for the playoffs, it was decided it is time for the club’s facilities to grow, and a piece of land at Edisford will house the complex.

Renowned Scandinavian architects 'Sloof + Lirpa' put together the initial designs of the 5000 all-seater New Shawbridge Community Stadium in late 2015, and the plans were passed last week.

Clitheroe’s Chairman Anne Barker said “It’s about time we had the facilities to help Clitheroe FC reach it’s full potential. With attendances steadily rising this season, we felt a larger capacity ground was needed. The new stadium will seat 5000, with further possible expansion to reach 9000.”

Ribble Valley Councillor’s spoke of their support for the plans adding “With our aim to build a further 12,000 homes in the area in the next 18 months, the town’s football club really deserves a stadium we can be even more proud of”.

The complex will also have a full-size training pitch open to the public, which features the latest 4G synthetic turf technology said to be twice as fast as 3G pitches.

The Grub-Tub will also be moved from it's current position at the existing Shawbridge, and there is also talk of replicating the pitch's slope for authenticity.

The project is due to be completed in 2018, with Blackburn Rovers also showing an interest in a ground-share scheme, as Blackburn chiefs have deemed Ewood Park surplus to requirements for the current match going attendance numbers.