Ebbsfleet United fans give backing to new 8,000-seater stadium plans and waterfront leisure and shopping destination in Northfleet

Ebbsfleet United supporters have backed the club's ambitious plans to build a new multi-purpose ground at the heart of a waterfront leisure and shopping destination.

The National League South outfit has made an strong start to the season as they look to propel themselves up the football league pyramid.

But its owners are keen to secure the club's long term future both on and off the pitch with a new 8,000 seater stadium capable of hosting concerts and shows.

Plans are already being drafted to create a new multi-purpose ground with improved facilities on the site of its existing home on Stonebridge Road.

The club is also working with property partners to put forward a blueprint for a new shopping and leisure destination, to be known as Northfleet Harbourside.

It will cover a brownfield site of around 50 acres and feature a new retail village consisting of 225,000 sq ft of shops, restaurants, bars and cafes, and medical services.

This is proposed to sit alongside a 200-bed hotel, 3,500 homes and 180,000 square foot of office space to include incubator spaces for start-ups.

But the Northfleet-based club still faces the prospect of having to convince the Fleet faithful it is the right move.

More than 20 fans met last night at the existing Stonebridge Road site, known commercially as the Kuflink Stadium, to hear directly on the next steps.

It follows the first round of consultation on the plans which took place in July.

Fleet chief executive Damian Irvine said the proposals would help secure the club’s long-term future,

He told KentOnline: "The consultation has been front-ended to get a lot of feedback before we lodge the application and has been very successful.

"A number of people engaged both in person and online webinars and through our online portal on the website.It has been very positive it has to be said."

Mr Irvine said common themes that come up were "part and parcel of development generally" and not specific to this site and included things like traffic management, resources supply and services in the area.

"It was medical, schooling and that type of thing," he explained. "Not looking to overpopulate and if a new population comes in, how they are served.

"A lot of things like the jobs we say we're going to be providing, where they come from, what they are, will they be for locals."

The Australian businessman added lots of the specifics around road layouts and numbers would be subject to further "modelling" but the aim was to be as "up front" as possible prior to submission, expected at the end of this month.

He also stressed the aim of the club was to help positively re-shape the local area while also paying homage to its riverside and industrial heritage.

"The locals around are very savvy," he added. "They know what they want and are asking questions about what they want to see, concerns around previous development, how they want to get them solved."

"They want to make sure that when we do deliver the development it is all that we say it's going to be and there is substance behind the numbers we're putting forward."

If approved, the initial build phase would see the club play elsewhere for the first two-to-three years with additional phases likely taking place over an eight to 10 year timespan.

Key concerns to emerge from the supporter's meeting related to the identity of the club, ground sharing arrangements during the build phase, navigating land rights with local landowners and the long term sustainability of the plans.

Lifelong supporter Alan Bradford, 72, from Northfleet, said: "Generally I'm really excited about it. I have seen everything, both the highs and the lows and there has been a lot of lows.

But he added: "I can only see this as a positive moving forward both for the community and the football club.

"We have got to look forward to the future. If this does get going it will be a good thing for the community and open up a lot of opportunity."

Others were more cautiously optimistic about the prospect of a new stadium capable of hosting concerts and other live events.

One supporter, who asked not to be named, said: "I can understand the business case but it is a shame it [the old stadium] is going to be demolished."

He also raised concerns that during the initial build phase the club's more elderly fan base may not wish to travel long distances to home games and gate figures could plummet.

The Fleet fan also wanted assurances they would have the right "financial clout" to withstand shocks both on and off the pitch.

But chief executive Mr Irvine sought to give assurances to supporters that the boardroom were working to ensure the long-term sustainability of the plans and pointed to the owner's "track record" of delivering for the club..

Chairman of the Fleet Supporters' Trust John Burgess also passed on his thanks on behalf of the club's fans to owner Kuwaiti businessman Dr Abdulla Al-Humaidi, who was present at the meeting.

Another of his projects, the oft-delayed and currently shelved London Resort theme park on adjacent land in the nearby Swanscombe Peninsula was also mentioned.

Dr Al-Humaidi has has since left the London Resort board but remains involved in the project which club bosses said was entirely separate.

New images have also been released of the stadium proposals which factor in "green zones" such as parkland and children's play areas.

It will also include more than three kilometres of pedestrian and cycle links through the community and along the River Thames improving connectivity to nearby developments in Gravesend town centre.

Such improvements to the local infrastructure and road structure could also align with proposals to extend Crossrail into Kent via Northfleet and Ebbsfleet stations – but bosses say they do not currently form part of the plans.

Residents are now being invited to a second round of public events for an update on the plans.

The latest series of events on the Northfleet Harbourside proposals are taking place at the Stonebridge Road stadium.

People can register for the online webinars by visiting www.northfleetharbourside.co.uk or by emailing hello@northfleetharbourside.co.uk

An in-person events is scheduled to take place today from 4pm-8pm and again between the same times tomorrow.

Additional online webinars will also be held on Friday, September 9 at 11am and Monday, September 12 at 6pm.

A planning application is expected to be submitted on September 30 to be followed by a seven to eight month revision period.

Gravesham council is expected to take a decision on the application around May next year.