Grimsby Town Football Club (GTFC) is hoping to take its proposals for a new community stadium to the next level by securing a lease for the Peaks Parkway site south of the town.

The ambitious plans include a 14,000-capacity community stadium as well as housing and retail developments worth around £200m.

GTFC director John Fenty said that while the five-year lease on the site was not a green light for development, it would be a clear statement of intent and would allow the club to have further talks with businesses that could help underpin the plan and offer financial backing.

The move comes as a year-long exclusivity agreement with North East Lincolnshire Council runs out.

The council and GTFC had the agreement in place so the club could do initial assessments on the viability of the site.

The club had previously planned a new stadium for the Great Coates area in the town, but failed to secure council backing for the scheme.

Fenty added that after more than 115 years at Blundell Park, the club is desperate to provide the new facility that will be a springboard for the club to re-enter the Football League.

Grimsby was relegated from the Football League in 2010 for the first time in 100 years and has so far failed to gain promotion back from the Conference.

Fenty said: "If successful, this project will leave a lasting legacy, deliver a flagship project, the first for generations. It would also secure the vast array of community schemes currently being delivered by Grimsby Town Sports and Education Trust, the club's delivery arm, all of which are as at much risk as the club itself, should this scheme not come to fruition."

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