The joy of last night's excellent victory on the pitch was followed by this morning 's celebrations when the City Council Planning subcommittee approved Cambridge United's plans to redevelop the Abbey Stadium.

Will Jones (left) was at the meeting both as a fan and to report on the proceedings for U's Net and within minutes of the unanimous approval he was able to relay news of the decision and the positive attitude displayed by the Councillors of all parties. They all expressed their pleasure that the club and the allotment society had reached a compromise over the land required for the redevelopment.

Chairman Reg Smart was clearly emotional after the decision and was almost lost for words as he pumped the hand of surveyor David Ward, saying, "Fifteen years, fifteen years!", while the club's PR manager Graham Eales described it as a "team effort that has won the club many new friends."

Speaking to Will afterwards, United's general manager Colin Davies said, "I'm delighted. The future is bright; the future is amber and black. It's a great day for the club, a great day for the city, and a great day for a phenomenal number of people who have just put such a lot of work into this over so many years. It's really quite emotional."

Director Richard Summerfield added, "Following on from yesterday's three-nil win this is like a twelve-nil win."

But he warned, "This is just the first hurdle. There are more to come like the DETR because of the departure from the local plan, and getting money from the Football Trust."

Liberal Democrat councillor John Hipkin, a member of the Planning subcommittee, told Will, "I would just like to say that I'm happy the fans got what they want, a better stadium, and I'm glad the allotment holders have been looked after.

"It's going to be an amenity for Cambridge that is a huge benefit for the city and I wish Cambridge United well. I don't think their present position in the League is any indication of their future."

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