Bristol stadium cricket floodlights get the go-ahead

Plans to floodlight cricket matches at the County Ground in Bristol have been given the go-ahead.

Bristol City Council granted Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (GCCC) planning permission for six floodlights at a meeting on Wednesday.

The 147ft-high (45m) pylons will be built at the stadium at a cost of £1.1m but used only 15 times a year.

Gloucestershire's chief executive said it put Bristol "on a par with all the big sporting cities in the country".

Four Cricket World Cup matches are due to be played at the ground in 2019 but to meet the cricket board's requirements, floodlights were needed.

"If we'd lost the Cricket World Cup and hadn't attracted future internal matches here, we'd have had to have a very close look at our finances," said chief executive Will Brown.

"Luckily that hasn't happened and it's a bright future ahead."

The club has been given a £700,000 grant towards the cost of the lighting by the England and Wales Cricket Board.